Danish impeachment court convicts ex-immigration minister

By JAN M. OLSEN
Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A rarely used impeachment court in Denmark has convicted a former immigration minister over a 2016 order to separate asylum-seeking couples when one of the partners was a minor. The Danish parliament voted to try Inger Stoejberg after a commission it appointed concluded that separating couples in asylum centers was “clearly illegal” and that staff members had warned the minister the practice was unlawful. The Court of Impeachment convened for the first time in 26 years to consider charges against Stoejberg, who maintained her innocence throughout the trial that resulted in Monday’s verdict. She said she initiated the policy of separating minors from their partners out of concerns the relationships may have involved forced marriages.