The Danish parliament has voted to start an impeachment trial against the former immigration minister Inger Stojberg. Stojberg would go on trial over her policy of separating asylum-seeking couples if one of them was under 18, which is considered a minor.
From June 2015 to 2019, Inger Stojberg served as the migration minister in the Danish government. Her policies towards migration have been described as hardline in different newspaper reports about her. Stojberg is a member of the center-right Danish Liberal Party Venstre.
Now, the Danish parliament has voted to impeach her in a very rarely used proceeding, with 139-30. The last time that the court convened was around 26 years ago. The impeachment process will target Stojberg’s 2016 order to separate asylum-seeking couples when one part of the couple was under 18, which is then the Danish legal age of marriage.
According to The Guardian, the charges against Stojberg are that of “illegally initiating the separation of cohabiting couples where one partner was a minor while being in the care of the Danish asylum system.”
Consented to Marriage
The Danish media pointed out that most of the partners who were minors were female ages between 15 and 17. They all declared that they had consented to their marriages. Men, on the other hand, were between the ages of 15 to 32.
Stojberg misled Danish parliamentary committees on four separate occasions when informing them of her decision. If found guilty, she could face a fine of up to two years in prison. No date has yet been set for the hearing.
At the time of the court order, Stojberg received warnings from her department that she was illegal. The policy aimed at separating at least 32 couples. Yet, Stojberg separated 23 couples before her policy was put on hold.
The court convened five times throughout history.
According to the Associated Press, the impeachment court was set up in 1849 and has convened five times since then. The court will have 15 Supreme Court judges and 15 members that the Danish parliament appoints.
Danish Immigration Policy
Some Danish parliament members have also called for centers outside the borders of Europe to process asylum seekers.
Denmark has a tiny population, with just 5.8 million citizens. Among the politicians of many different political colors is the belief that too many immigrants could disrupt how the Danish people live.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in parliament in January 2021, according to Politiken, a Danish newspaper, “We need to be careful that not too many people come to our country; otherwise, our social cohesion cannot exist.”
Even though Stojberg can’t appeal against any final judgment of the impeachment court, she stated that she said previously in the press that her goal in issuing her 2016 policy was to stop child marriages and protect the underage girls that are at risk.