Trial Starts For A Polish Man Accused Of Punching Danish Prime Minister In Copenhagen

The trial of a Polish man accused of punching Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in the shoulder in June began Tuesday, with Frederiksen not expected to appear in court.

She suffered a minor whiplash injury when a man assaulted her in central Copenhagen on June 7 and canceled her schedule for the next few days.

The Ekstra Bladet newspaper said the unidentified 39-year-old Polish man is charged with punching Frederiksen’s right shoulder with a clenched fist, causing her to lose her balance, but not fall.

Defense lawyer Henrik Karl Nielsen told Copenhagen District Court that his client pleaded not guilty, it said.

The Polish man, who has been living in Denmark for five years, told the court that he was “intoxicated by alcohol but not drunk” and was just wandering around when he saw Frederiksen, Danish public broadcaster DR reported.

Read more: AP