Friday

29th Mar 2024

Danish ex-immigration minister gets 60 days jail

Listen to article

Denmark's former immigration minister Inger Støjberg was on Monday (13 December) sentenced to 60 days in jail for separating married asylum seekers.

The jail term comes as a blow to the former conservative-liberal minister whose anti-migrant policies were strengthened to rely on the support of the far-right Danish People's Party during her tenure from 2015 to 2019.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The 48-year old Støjberg was given the sentence for having issued an order, in February 2016, to separate married and cohabiting couples, if one of the two was deemed a minor.

But the Danish Supreme Court ruled it unlawful, noting that no individual assessments had been made prior to the separations.

The judges said the order had violated Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which deals with the right to respect for private and family life.

It had also breached Danish laws, it said, describing Støjberg's violations as having been committed "intentionally or through gross negligence". She also stood accused of providing parliament with "incorrect or misleading information".

Some 23 married couples were separated in a policy Støjberg argued was designed to tackle child marriage. The women said they had consented to the relationships.

Støjberg of the conservative-liberal Venstre party at the time, plus senior members of the Danish People's Party, said the verdict had come as a surprise.

"I'm very, very surprised. I have to say that, and I think it is the Danish values ​​that have lost today, it is not just me, but the Danish values," said Støjberg who resigned from Venstre in February and is now an independent MP.

However, the order on separations were not the only controversial measures Støjberg enacted.

Under her tenure, Denmark had also drawn up plans to seize migrants' jewellery and valuables to cover the costs of their stay in the country.

At the time, Støjberg defended the policy, saying that Danes are also sometimes required to sell off their valuables before receiving benefits. She had also launched ads in Lebanese newspapers to discourage would-be Syrian asylum seekers from going to Denmark.

The Monday ruling is final, although it may be possible for Støjberg to serve some of the sentence wearing an ankle-bracelet.

The court verdict comes amid a further hardening of the current left-leaning government's position on asylum, which it seeks to outsource.

Over the summer, Rasmus Stoklund, the government party's immigration speaker, said the overall plan was to stop people from seeking asylum in Denmark.

Stoklund's comments came on the back of a Danish law that seeks to relocate asylum seekers to other countries like Rwanda.

Some 1,500 people applied for asylum in Denmark last year, compared to the peak of more than 21,000 in 2015.

MEPs to grill Denmark for pushing Syrians to EU states

MEPs are taking the EU-lead to hold Denmark to account for stripping Syrians of residency rights. Although aware of the problem, the European Commission has other priorities while the issue has not been raised at the Council, representing member states.

Investigation

How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route

Psychotropic drug abuse is one of the many dangers migrants face along the Balkan route. In overcrowded camps, doctors prescribe tranquilisers to calm people down. And black market circuits and pharmacies selling drugs without prescription contribute to the issue.

Investigation

How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route

Psychotropic drug abuse is one of the many dangers migrants face along the Balkan route. In overcrowded camps, doctors prescribe tranquilisers to calm people down. And black market circuits and pharmacies selling drugs without prescription contribute to the issue.

Analysis

Election in sight, EU mood music changes on offshoring asylum

Designating a country like Rwanda as 'safe' under EU rules to send an asylum-seeker there requires strict conditions to be met first. But a backdoor clause introduced into EU legislation allows a future commission to strip out those requirements.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us