She is accused of having violated the law by automatically separating couples of asylum seekers: Inger Støjberg, ex-Minister for Integration of Denmark, is tried from Thursday before the Special Court of Justice, a extremely rare procedure in the Scandinavian country.
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"
This is the first case in 25 years and before that there was only one comparable case (...) it is historic,
" Frederik Waage, professor of law at the University of Denmark, told AFP. from South.
During the 46 days of hearings, the 26 judges of the Special Court, which meets only to judge members of the government, former or present, will try to determine whether Ms. Støjberg has violated "
the European Convention on the Rights of the Human Rights. 'man
' by ordering the separation of couples seeking asylum when the woman is a minor.
In 2016, 23 couples, whose age difference was mostly small, had been separated, without individual examination of their file, under the instruction given by the liberal minister who has since left the party without giving up her seat of deputy.
Aggravating circumstance for the prosecution, questioned in Commission before Parliament, it would have given "
incorrect or misleading information
", noted the indictment.
The 48-year-old woman believes she is wrongly accused.
In her speech to Parliament, which in accordance with the procedure adopted the indictment in February, she said she had "
done what, in my opinion, was the only political and human thing to do
" to fight against marriages. forced children.
“
Imagine arriving in a country like Denmark, a country of parity, as a young girl in a forced marriage, and finding that instead of giving yourself the option of ending your forced marriage, the State forces you to do so by lodging you together in an asylum center
, ”she pleaded.
Of the 179 Folketing MPs, 139 voted in favor of the indictment.
Thirty were opposed and ten did not participate in the vote.
Minister of Immigration from 2015 to 2019 in a center-right government supported by the populist anti-immigration right DF, the Danish People's Party, Ms Støjberg assumed Denmark's very restrictive welcome policy and prided herself on have passed more than 110 amendments restricting the rights of foreigners.
