Key facts
- MEPs voted Tuesday to waive the parliamentary immunity of Grzegorz Braun.
- Braun faces charges of Holocaust denial in Poland.
- He is accused of denying Nazi Germany's genocide crimes at Auschwitz.
- The alleged denial occurred during a public debate in Warsaw in September 2025.
- Braun previously stated in a July 2025 radio interview that "Auschwitz, with its gas chambers is, unfortunately, a fake."
- The offense carries a sentence of up to three years in prison.
Members of the European Parliament voted on Tuesday to waive the parliamentary immunity of Grzegorz Braun, a far-right leader in Poland, who is facing charges of Holocaust denial. Braun, who leads the ultranationalist Confederation of the Polish Crown (KKP) party, is accused of denying the crimes of genocide committed by Nazi Germany at Auschwitz during a public debate in Warsaw in September 2025.
Braun was already charged with genocide denial in a separate case. In a July 2025 radio interview, he stated that “Auschwitz, with its gas chambers is, unfortunately, a fake.” This offense carries a potential sentence of up to three years in prison. The European Parliament had previously waived Braun’s immunity for this case in March, and he was formally charged in August.
The vote in Strasbourg on Tuesday allows Polish authorities to proceed with this additional case. Braun achieved a surprise fourth-place finish in Poland’s 2025 presidential election with 6.3% of the vote. His KKP party is currently polling around 8% ahead of next year’s parliamentary election, indicating it could play a significant role in forming a government between the Law and Justice party and Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s ruling coalition.
The European Parliament has waived Braun’s immunity on multiple occasions for various allegations, including assaulting a doctor and extinguishing candles from a menorah during a Hanukkah celebration. Braun commented on X after Tuesday's vote that he had lost track of how many cases his immunity had been lifted for.