New Zealand’s first refugee lawmaker resigns after claims of shoplifting

WELLINGTON (AP) — New Zealand’s first refugee lawmaker resigned after local media aired allegations she had shoplifted several times at local high-end boutiques.

Without referring to the specific allegations, Golriz Ghahraman, a member of New Zealand’s Green Party and its justice and foreign affairs spokesperson, resigned with immediate effect, saying that “stresses relating to my work” led her to act “in ways completely out of character.”

“People should, rightly, expect the highest standards of behaviour from their elected representatives. I fell short. I’m sorry,” she wrote in a statement released on Tuesday. It’s not a behaviour I can explain because it’s not rational in any way, and after medical evaluation, I understand I’m not well.”

“The best thing for my mental health is to resign as a member of parliament and to focus on my recovery and to find other ways to work for positive change in the world.”

Local media have accused Ghahraman of shoplifting two times at Scotties Boutique in Auckland, and once at Cre8iveworkz in Wellington in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

On Tuesday, the New Zealand Herald published CCTV footage of the 42-year-old appearing to steal a handbag from the Auckland-based store.

Ghahraman is an Iranian-born, Oxford-educated human rights lawyer who sought asylum in New Zealand after the Iran-Iraq war. She became first refugee elected to New Zealand’s parliament in 2017.

In recent months, the Auckland-based lawmaker has been one of the country’s most vocal advocates for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Greens co-leader James Shaw said he had a “a lot of empathy for Ghahraman,” who was “clearly in a state of extreme distress.”

“She has taken responsibility and apologized. We support the decision,” he said before detailing alarming threats she encountered during her six years as a lawmaker.

“Golriz herself has been subject to pretty much continuous threats of sexual violence, physical violence, death threats, since the day she was elected,” he said. “There have been police investigations into those threats almost the entire time ... if you’re living with that level of threat in what is already quite a stressful situation there are going to be consequences.”

New Zealand Police said in a statement that they were investigating a December incident at an Auckland store, but did not confirm it involved Ghahraman.