09/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - By adopting the report of British Liberal Democrat, Diana Wallis, on Tuesday 8 July in Strasbourg (638 voters for, 17 against, 21 abstentions), the European Parliament has decided to withdraw the diplomatic immunity of Witold Tomczak. The latter was successively elected in 1997 on the Akcja Wyborcza Solidarnosc (Solidarity Action for the Elections) list and for the Families' League in 2001. On 21 December 2000, Tomczak (IND/DEM) damaged a sculpture in a Warsaw gallery by Maurizio Cattelan called the “Ninth Hour”, representing Pope Jean-Paul II being crushed by a meteorite. At the request of the insurance company, which had to pay for the damages to the work of art, the Warsaw district prosecutor is pursuing criminal proceedings against the MEP and has therefore asked for his immunity to be lifted. The parliament had previously twice refused to defend the immunity of this MEP, who is also being pursued for insulting police officers. (O.J./trans/rh)