Former Danish minister sentenced to prison for dividing immigrant couples

<x0INger Stéyberg was found guilty of deliberate violation of the law on ministerial responsibility. The sentence is a severe 60-day prison sentence”, the court announced.

Charged for violating the European Convention on Human Rights by ordering the separation of asylum seekers couples, some of whom had children because women were under 18 years of age, St.eiberg was acquitted.

In 2016, 23 couples split up without individually examining their cases at the order of the minister.

Then they are placed in special waiting centers until their asylum demands are considered.

Parliament must now decide whether St. Koyberg will lift his parliamentary immunity.

Stêyberg was Minister of Migration from 2015 to 2019 in a centre-right government backed by the right-wing Danish Popular Party that opposes immigration. She boasted that she has been entrusted with adopting more than 110 amendments restricting foreign rights in the country.

Among them is a measure for confiscating migrants' property to finance their care in Denmark.

Its case is only the third time since 1910 that a political official has had to respond to 26 judges from a special court in Denmark who judge ministers who have abused their duty.

The last case was in 1993, the so-called Tamilgate referring to the illegal freeze of the families' refugee gatherings introduced in 1987 and 1988 by former conservative Justice Minister Eric En-Hansen. He received a parole sentence of four months.