Poland asks EP to lift far-right MEPs immunity over gas chamber denial
Poland's Prosecutor General Waldemar Zurek has sent a motion asking the European Parliament (EP) to lift the immunity of Grzegorz Braun, a far-right Polish EP member who questioned the existence of gas chambers at Nazi German concentration camp Auschwitz.
Speaking to the Polish radio station Wnet in July, Braun, who has been known for his anti-Semitic acts and comments, said that "ritual murder is a fact, and such a thing as Auschwitz with its gas chambers is unfortunately a fake."
The National Prosecutor's Office reported on its motion in a statement on Friday.
Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, which has prosecution powers, has also launched an investigation into Braun's comments.
Denial of crimes committed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union is a crime in Poland.
Braun made headlines around the world in December 2023, when he stormed a Hanukkah ceremony held in the Polish parliament armed with a fire extinguisher, which he then used to put out the candles on the traditional Jewish candelabrum, the menorah.
He was also responsible for a number of other controversial incidents, which included destroying a Christmas tree decorated with EU and Ukrainian flags, trampling on the EU flag, interrupting a lecture by a German historian and vandalising the audio equipment, and holding a doctor captive for over an hour over an abortion she had carried out. (PAP)
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