Danish PM Frederiksen suffered light whiplash after assault, her office says
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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was taken to hospital for a check-up following the assault in Copenhagen on June 7.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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COPENHAGEN – Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen suffered a light whiplash injury after she was assaulted by a man in central Copenhagen
“Apart from that, the Prime Minister is safe and sound, but she is shocked by the incident,” it said in a statement on June 8.
It added that Ms Frederiksen was taken to hospital for a check-up following the incident late on June 7. All of her official events on June 8 were cancelled.
The police in Denmark said on June 8 they did not believe an assault on Ms Frederiksen was “politically motivated”. The suspect was remanded in custody until June 20.
“It is currently not our guiding hypothesis that the incident was politically motivated,” the police said in a statement on X, adding that a judge had remanded in custody the 39-year-old man.
Ms Frederiksen was able to walk away and had no outward signs of harm after the assault, Mr Soren Kjergaard, who works as a barista in central Copenhagen, told Reuters after seeing her being escorted away by security.
Neither the police nor the Prime Minister’s office said anything about the man’s motive or whether he had carried a weapon.
The assault comes two days before Danes head to the polls in the European Union election.
A month ago, three German politicians suffered assaults ahead of European Parliament and district council elections, and more attacks followed earlier this week.
Several EU leaders condemned the latest incident, which happened just three weeks after Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was seriously injured
“The attack on Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is an intolerable act of violence that represents an attack on the heart of democratic values,” Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on X.
Dr Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said on X: “I was so shocked at the news of you being assaulted tonight. I condemn this despicable act which goes against everything we believe and fight for in Europe. I wish you strength and courage – I know you have plenty of both.” REUTERS, AFP
