People join a demonstration with workers who are on the 20th day of a hunger strike on April 4, 2021 in New York, who did not receive federal unemployment aid because of factors like immigration status. Photo: AFP

A former Danish immigration minister goes on trial on Thursday in a rarely used impeachment court accused of illegally separating couples who arrived in the country to claim asylum.

The 26 judges of the special court, which only convenes to try former or current members of government, will determine whether Inger Stojberg violated the European Convention on Human Rights.

Law professor Frederik Waage pointed out that it was only the third such case in more than a century, calling it "historic." 

Stojberg ordered the separation of 23 couples in 2016 where the woman was under 18 - though the age differences were mostly small - without examining the cases individually.

She is also accused of "lying to or misleading" parliamentary committees when informing them of her decision.

The 48-year-old ex-minister denies any wrongdoing.

Stojberg repeatedly made headlines in the international media for her handling of immigration issues during her 2015-19 tenure as minister in the previous Liberal-led government. She has since quit her party but remains a lawmaker.

Addressing parliament in February when lawmakers voted to try her, Stojberg said she did "the only political and humane thing" to combat forced child marriages.

"Imagine arriving in a country like Denmark, a country of equality, as a young girl victim of a forced marriage, and you discover that instead of giving you the possibility to break free of your forced marriage, the state forces you to stay together in an asylum reception center," she said.