Prosecutors have filed an indictment against MEP Grzegorz Braun, TVN24 has learned. The charges concern the theft of the Ukrainian and EU flags, the destruction of an exhibition in the Sejm, and defamation of the organisers of the „Żonkile” campaign.
TVN24 journalist Patryk Michalski was the first to report that the indictment had been filed, followed by outlets including RMF24 and WP. As of publication, we have not found a separate statement from the prosecutor’s office on sending the case to court, so the details come from TVN24’s findings.
Four counts in the indictment
According to TVN24, the indictment covers:
- the brazen theft of a Ukrainian flag from the town hall in Biała Podlaska,
- the brazen theft of an European Union flag from the then Ministry of Industry building in Katowice,
- the destruction of an exhibition devoted to the LGBT community in the Sejm building,
- defamation of the organisers of the „Żonkile” campaign, including the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, during the „Super Express” presidential debate.
Besides Braun, five people are charged. Two are to answer as accomplices in the flag thefts, among them Roman Fritz, a Confederation Crown of Poland MP. The other three are charged with aiding the removal of the Ukrainian flag in Biała Podlaska; according to TVN24, they brought Braun a ladder and helped set it up.
What is known about the charges
The same events were the subject of charges that Braun received on 20 August at the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw. As stated in the prosecutor’s statement of 21 August, the flag in Biała Podlaska was taken on 30 April 2025 from the balcony of the town hall, and the municipality’s loss was estimated at PLN 20. Defamation, under Article 212 § 2 of the Penal Code, was charged for a statement made on 28 April 2025 about the „Żonkile” campaign. This offence carries a fine, restriction of liberty or up to one year in prison.
Earlier, the prosecutor’s office said the request to lift Braun’s immunity concerned the theft of the Ukrainian flag, the theft of the EU flag, the destruction of the Sejm exhibition and defamation, and valued the flag from Katowice at PLN 388 (statement from the Warsaw-Praga District Prosecutor’s Office). We covered the EU flag case in our article about the incident in Katowice.
After the charges were announced, National Prosecutor Dariusz Korneluk told TVN24 that Braun did not plead guilty and refused to give explanations. Braun himself said the flag was removed at his „request and explicit order”, and that he takes responsibility for his assistant, Polsat News reported.
This is not the first indictment
In July 2025, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw sent an earlier indictment to the District Court Warsaw Praga-Południe, concerning, among other things, events at the National Institute of Cardiology in 2022. That is a separate case.
What happens next
An indictment does not mean guilt: Braun is a defendant and is presumed innocent. The court will decide on guilt. As of publication, it has not been disclosed which court received the indictment or when the trial may begin. There is also no publicly available response from Braun to the filing of the indictment.
