By V.E.K.Madhushani, Jadetimes News
Polish Man Denies Assaulting Danish Prime Minister, Citing Intoxication
A Polish man has pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting Denmark's Prime Minister, claiming he was too intoxicated to recall the incident. The suspect, whose identity is protected by legal restrictions, is on trial in Copenhagen, facing charges of violence against a public servant, indecent exposure, and fraud related to other incidents.
The man has admitted guilt to some of the other charges and faces potential imprisonment and deportation. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sustained minor neck and shoulder injuries during the attack, which occurred three weeks after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was seriously injured in an assassination attempt.
During the trial, the 39 year old defendant explained he had been experiencing a difficult day when he encountered Ms. Frederiksen in June, just two days before the European Parliament elections. "I'm standing face to face with Mrs. Prime Minister, [then] I can't remember anything else until I am arrested," he told the court, as reported by AFP.
Despite the assault, Ms. Frederiksen managed to leave the scene unaided and later described herself as "shaken" but "fine." She was taken to the hospital for a check up and subsequently withdrew from the final day of campaigning for the European elections. Ms. Frederiksen will not be called as a witness in the trial.
A bodyguard testified that the man approached Ms. Frederiksen on a busy street, said something incomprehensible, and delivered "a hard punch with his fist on her shoulder." Ms. Frederiksen, 46, is the leader of Denmark's Social Democrats, the largest party in the country's coalition government, and has been in office since 2019, becoming the youngest prime minister in Danish history.
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