The man who punched the Danish Prime Minister sentenced to four months in prison and deportation

At the beginning of June, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was hit by a man in the street while she was walking in central Copenhagen. The attacker denied any responsibility. Again on Tuesday, he assured that he did not remember the incident. As for Mette Frederiksen, she was not heard as a witness during the trial, the defense lawyer and the special prosecutor said on Tuesday. “We found him guilty of punching the Prime Minister on the right shoulder,” said Judge Jacob Scherfig at the end of a two-day trial.

Immediately apprehended, the man, who was drunk, was placed in pre-trial detention. The head of government then underwent a medical examination at the hospital, where doctors detected a “slight cervical sprain”, according to her services.

In 2019, Mette Frederiksen became, at 41, the youngest prime minister of the Scandinavian country and retained her post after her party’s victory in the 2022 legislative elections. After her attack, she said she was « shaken » and did not had not participated in the end of the European election campaign. The incident provoked strong reactions in Denmark and among European leaders.