Polish far-right politician hit with seven charges, including for attack on Jewish ceremony

Far-right politician Grzegorz Braun, who finished fourth in Poland's recent presidential election, has been presented by prosecutors with seven sets of charges relating to four incidents, including his attack on a Jewish religious celebration in parliament two years ago.

The charges against Braun include assaulting and insulting a public official, destruction of property, insulting a religious group and object of religious worship, and causing damage to health. If found guilty, he could face years in prison.

Braun was previously charged in relation to the same offenses last year, after being stripped of immunity as a Polish MP. However, he was subsequently elected to the European Parliament, thereby regaining legal immunity.

In May this year, the European Parliament approved a request from Poland's justice minister to lift Braun's immunity. That has now opened the way for him to be charged again.

The most infamous of the four incidents in question occurred in December 2023 , when Braun used a fire extinguisher to put out candles that had been lit in Poland's parliament as part of the celebration of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

Immediately after that incident, Braun went to the parliamentary podium and declared that “there can be no place for the acts of this racist, tribal, wild Talmudic cult on the premises of parliament.” He added that he was “putting an end to acts of satanic, racist triumphalism”.

Braun has now been charged in relation to that incident with insulting a religious group, malicious interference with a religious act, offending religious feelings, as well as assaulting and causing harm to the health of a woman who had been involved in the ceremony.

Another incident was when Braun disrupted a lecture at the German Historical Institute in Warsaw by Jan Grabowski, a Polish-Canadian Holocaust scholar. He has been charged with causing damage to property at the venue and disturbing the peace.

Braun has been hit with another charge of property damage in relation to a further incident in which he removed a Christmas tree from a courthouse because it was decorated with EU and LGBT+ flags.

Finally, he has been charged with assaulting and insulting a public official during an incident in which Braun entered the National Institute of Cardiology and confronted its director, Łukasz Szumowski.

Szumowski had previously served as health minister during the Covid pandemic and Braun blamed him for the introduction of restrictions and the implementation of vaccines, both of which Braun vehemently opposed .

In their announcement of the charges against Braun, prosecutors note that he “did not plead guilty to committing the acts he was accused of” and “questioned the validity of the charges brought against him.” He also “provided very extensive explanations and answered the [prosecutors'] questions.”

Braun is also being investigated over a series of incidents during the recent presidential election campaign, including when he vandalized an LGBT+ exhibition , made anti-Semitic remarks during a televised debate, and removed a Ukrainian flag from a public building.

During the first round of the election on 18 May, Braun finished fourth, with 6.34% of the vote.

Braun was previously one of the leaders of the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja), which won 18 seats in parliament at the 2023 election . However, earlier this year he was expelled from the group for standing against Confederation's chosen candidate, Sławomir Mentzen, in the presidential election.

Main image credit: Dawid Zuchowicz / Agencja Wyborcza.pl