Parliamentary immunity protects members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, from prosecution while in office.
Lifting it does not determine guilt but rather allows national authorities to investigate or bring a case to court.
Under European Union rules, national prosecutors must secure the EU legislature’s approval before pursuing an MEP in court.
Poland’s prosecutor general has asked the European Parliament to consent to criminal proceedings in a case linked to Braun's alleged public denial of crimes committed at the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz.
The new request is one of several involving Braun.
In May, during a voting session in Strasbourg, France, the European Parliament lifted his immunity in a separate matter.
A previous request was also announced in June from the plenary floor by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
Each case follows the same procedure. The parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, known by its acronym JURI, studies the file and prepares a recommendation to approve or reject the waiver. The full chamber then makes the final decision by a simple majority vote.
According to prosecutors, the latest file concerns six suspected offenses. The allegations include unlawful deprivation of liberty, bodily harm, insult, and defamation of Dr. Gizela Jagielska at the Oleśnica County Hospital Complex in April 2025.
They also include publicly inciting religious hatred online and insulting religious feelings, based in part on a YouTube interview in which Braun discussed his use of a fire extinguisher on December 12, 2023, to put out a Hanukkah candle in the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament.
In that interview, prosecutors say, he praised the act, encouraged similar behavior, and described Hanukkah as a “satanist and racist” celebration that threatened Polish Catholics.
The file also cites the March 18, 2025, defacement of 10 posters in Opole with the slogan “Stop the propaganda of perversion,” a phrase that targets sexual minorities.
If the Legal Affairs Committee recommends lifting immunity, the report will go to the full parliament for a vote. If the committee advises against it, the chamber may still decide otherwise.
A waiver clears the way for national investigators or courts to proceed. It does not suspend an MEP’s mandate, nor does it bar the lawmaker from parliamentary work.
Braun has drawn attention in Poland and abroad through self-promotional stunts designed to dominate the news cycle. He has staged confrontations in public institutions and used high-visibility gestures, such as the fire-extinguisher incident, to generate online traction and rally supporters.
His social media channels frequently amplify these episodes, which then feature prominently in sympathetic media. Supporters often present these actions as acts of defiance against political and cultural opponents, while many mainstream politicians and community leaders condemn them as provocative and harmful.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, pap.pl, gov.pl