The former Danish integration minister, Inger Stojberg, was found guilty on Monday of illegally separating several asylum-seeking husbands from their wives because they are underage.
The newspaper "Liberation" reported that Stojberg was convicted of willful neglect of her ministerial responsibilities and violation of the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, and accordingly was sentenced to two months in prison.
This punishment comes as a result of an illegal order it issued to separate asylum-seeking husbands from their wives who are under the age of 18, knowing that some of them have children.
After leaving court, Stojberg said she was "very surprised, I think what happened was a defeat for Danish values, not just me."
In 2016, 23 husbands (the age differences between them and their wives are small) were separated without studying their files individually, based on the minister’s recommendations, and they were then placed in different centers during the study of their files.
During the sentencing hearing, Chief Justice Thomas Rordham noted that the decision "was illegal because the Integration Minister was not supposed to take concrete action without referring to the persons concerned", and the prosecution welcomed the "clear and correct" verdict.
It is noteworthy that Stojberg - who between 2015 and 2019 took over the Ministry of Immigration in a center-right government - had the support of the anti-immigration nationalist Danish People's Party, and had a very hard-line policy towards immigrants and asylum seekers.
It was said that she boasted of introducing more than 110 amendments to restrict the rights of foreigners, and approved - during her tenure - a procedure providing for the confiscation of the property of immigrants to finance their care in Denmark.
Procedure to confiscate immigrant property
After the verdict, one of the minister's former cabinet colleagues praised the smooth functioning of Danish justice.
And former Finance Minister Christian Jensen said - in a tweet on Twitter - that "60 days is a harsh punishment, but it is important that lies and demagogy do not weaken the law."
On the other hand, the former minister's supporters - including far-right parties - opposed this ruling, and one prominent politician commented, "It is a completely incomprehensible ruling. Stojberg did the right thing. Child marriage should not be discussed in Denmark, regardless of what the agreements that pardoned She has time.”