European Parliament lifts immunity of Polish far-right MEP
The European Parliament (EP) has waived the immunity of Polish MEP Grzegorz Braun, paving the way for prosecutors to pursue several criminal charges against him, including assaulting a doctor at a hospital.
The request, filed in June by then Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar, concerns six criminal allegations, among them unlawful detention, assault, insult and defamation of Dr Gizela Jagielska during an incident at the County Hospital Complex in Olesnica, south-western Poland, in April 2025.
According to prosecutors, Braun confronted the doctor over her involvement in an abortion of a high-risk pregnancy, obstructed her movements, physically restrained her and verbally insulted her, while recording and posting the incident online.
He is also accused of inciting religious hatred and offending religious feelings in a YouTube interview in which he defended his earlier act of using a fire extinguisher to douse Hanukkah candles in the Polish parliament, calling the Jewish festival a celebration hostile to Polish Catholics.
Another charge concerns the defacement of LGBT rights posters in Opole, southern Poland, in March 2025, where he allegedly sprayed the slogan "Stop propaganda of perversion."
In May, the EP had already voted to revoke Braun's immunity in a separate case related to the Hanukkah incident and other disturbances.
Lifting an MEP's immunity allows national judicial authorities to proceed with investigations or prosecutions but does not determine guilt. (PAP)
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