Dark clouds are gathering over Braun. Politician questioned regarding the waiver of immunity

On Monday, MEP Grzegorz Braun was heard by the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament in connection with the procedure to lift his immunity. This concerns the suspicion of committing six crimes, including violating the physical integrity of a doctor at a hospital in Oleśnica.

The JURI legal committee considers requests to waive MEPs' immunities in secret. The MEP's hearing also took place behind closed doors on Monday.

He submitted a request to waive Braun's immunity to the chamber in June this year. the then Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar. This includes: for deprivation of liberty, violation of bodily integrity, insult and slander of doctor Gizela Jagielska in April 2025 on the premises of the District Hospital Complex in Oleśnica.

The European Parliament has already decided to lift Braun's immunity in May this year. This case included, among others: for an investigation into his extinguishing of Hanukkah candles in the Sejm, but also a number of other incidents.

Last week, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, announced that the Polish authorities had requested her to waive the immunity of Grzegorz Braun and Tomasz Buczek in connection with legal proceedings pending in Poland.

In the case of the application considered by the European Parliamentary Committee on Monday, Braun is also accused of publicly inciting on the Internet “to hatred based on religious differences” and the offense of insulting religious feelings “by giving an interview published on YouTube regarding, among other things, using a fire extinguisher on December 12, 2023 in the Sejm of the Republic of Poland to extinguish there's a Hanukkah candle.”

In this interview – in the context of this event – Braun, according to the prosecutor's office, included a statement expressing approval and encouraging viewers and listeners to engage in this type of behavior, and also described Hanukkah as a manifestation of a satanic and racist celebration posing a threat to Polish Catholics.

The last accusation concerns the destruction of ten posters in Opole on March 18, 2025 “by applying lettering in black paint, which in its entirety constitutes the inscription: STOP PROPAGANDA OF PERVERTS.”

The waiver of immunity does not mean that the MEP is found guilty, but only allows national judicial authorities to conduct an investigation or trial. MEPs are elected in accordance with national electoral laws, so if they are found guilty of a crime, it is up to the Member State authorities to decide whether to revoke their mandate.

Braun was also excluded from the European Parliament and deprived of his allowance for 30 days for disrupting the commemoration of Holocaust victims. Previously, he was excluded from the proceedings for two days and deprived of his allowance for the same period in connection with his statement at the plenary session about LGBTQ people.

From Brussels Magdalena Cedro (PAP)

mce/mms/mhr/