The European Parliament has once again stripped immunity from far-right Polish lawmaker Grzegorz Braun, paving the way for prosecutors in Poland to pursue charges against him, including Holocaust denial and vandalism of public symbols, Polish media reported Friday.
The decision followed a request by Polish prosecutors to lift Braun’s legal protections in two separate cases. The first concerns remarks he made in a radio interview in which he claimed that the Auschwitz extermination camp, including its gas chambers, was a “hoax.” The comments, widely condemned as deeply offensive, prompted a criminal investigation.
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Far-right Polish lawmaker Grzegorz Braun
(Photo: Czarek Sokolowski/ AP)
Braun is also suspected of involvement in other incidents, including the vandalism of Ukrainian, European Union and LGBTQ flags inside the lower house of Poland’s parliament. These cases add to a series of previous controversies that have drawn widespread public outrage across Europe.
Krzysztof Śmiszek, a member of the European Parliament from the New Left party, said there was no doubt about the need to lift Braun’s immunity. “Antisemitism, violence and discrimination are not European values,” he said, urging Polish authorities to proceed swiftly with legal action.
Grzegorz Braun extinguishes a Hanukkah menorah with a fire extinguisher
(מתוך איקס)
This is not the first time Braun’s immunity has been revoked. Similar steps were taken in the past following other incidents, including extinguishing Hanukkah candles with a fire extinguisher in Poland’s parliament and an alleged assault on a gynecologist in the city of Olsztyn. These repeated episodes have cemented his reputation as a highly controversial figure in European politics.
Braun heads the Confederation of the Polish Crown party and ran in Poland’s most recent presidential election, finishing fourth, a result seen as notable given the intense public criticism he has faced.
The lifting of his immunity does not determine guilt, but allows authorities to deepen their investigation and potentially file charges. Attention now turns to Poland’s judicial system, which will be tasked with handling one of the most sensitive and charged cases currently on the country’s public agenda.
