Denmark, Copenhagen: The trial of a Polish man accused of punching Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in the shoulder in June began on Tuesday, although Ms Frederiksen is not expected to appear in court.

Ms Frederiksen sustained a minor whiplash injury when she was assaulted in central Copenhagen on June 7, leading her to cancel her schedule for the following days.

According to the Ekstra Bladet newspaper, the unidentified 39-year-old Polish man is charged with punching Ms Frederiksen's right shoulder with a clenched fist, causing her to lose her balance, though she did not fall.

The defendant's lawyer, Henrik Karl Nielsen, informed Copenhagen District Court that his client pleaded not guilty.

The Polish man, who has been living in Denmark for five years, testified that he was "intoxicated by alcohol but not drunk" and was merely wandering around when he encountered Frederiksen, as reported by Danish public broadcaster DR.

The incident occurred while Frederiksen was taking a break from campaigning for her Social Democratic Party in the European Parliament elections, at a busy downtown Copenhagen plaza.

The attack had no connection to the campaign event.

The man, who has been in pre-trial custody since the assault, also faces additional charges, including sexual harassment for exposing himself to passersby and groping a woman at a commuter train station, as well as fraud involving deposit-marked bottles and cans at two supermarkets. He has admitted to these charges.

Ms Frederiksen, 46, is the leader of the Social Democratic Party and has served as Denmark's prime minister since 2019.

She led the country through the global COVID-19 pandemic and made the controversial 2020 decision to eliminate Denmark's entire captive mink population to reduce the risk of the mammals spreading the virus.

The trial is expected to conclude on Wednesday, though it is unclear when the verdict will be announced.