WELLINGTON (AP) – New Zealand's first refugee lawmaker has been charged by police a day after he resigned after allegedly shoplifting several times from a local luxury boutique.
New Zealand Police said former New Zealand Green Party member Gorriz Ghahraman was charged on Wednesday with two counts of shoplifting from a store in Auckland's trendy Ponsonby area.
“A 43-year-old woman was summoned to appear in Auckland District Court today on two shoplifting charges,” a police statement said. “These charges relate to incidents at a retail store in Ponsonby that are said to have taken place on December 21 and 23, 2023.”
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – SEPTEMBER 4: Television personality and comedian Guy Williams (left) and Green Party MP Gollis Ghahraman (center) as Nigel Farage speaks in Auckland, New Zealand on September 4, 2018. ) joins demonstrators outside the Pullman Hotel. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
Mr Gahraman, who was the Green Party's justice and foreign affairs spokesperson, is due to appear in Auckland District Court on February 1.
Mr. Gahraman resigned on Tuesday without citing specific allegations, saying he had acted “completely out of character” due to “work-related stress.”
“People should rightly expect the highest standards of conduct from their elected representatives. We fell short. We are sorry,” she said in a statement released Tuesday. I understand that his behavior is not rational and cannot be explained, and that he is not feeling well based on the medical diagnosis. ”
“The best thing for my mental health is to resign from Congress, focus on my recovery, and find other ways to work for positive change in the world.”
Local media had previously accused Mr Gahraman of shoplifting twice from Scotty's Boutique in Auckland and once from Cre8iveworkz in Wellington in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
On Tuesday, the New Zealand Herald published surveillance footage of a 42-year-old man attempting to steal a handbag from an Auckland-based store.
Ghahraman is an Iranian-born, Oxford-educated human rights lawyer who sought asylum in New Zealand after the Iran-Iraq war. In 2017, she became the first refugee to be elected to the New Zealand Parliament.
In recent months, Mr. Ghahraman has been one of the most vocal advocates for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Green Party co-leader James Shaw said he had “huge sympathy” for Mr Gahraman, who was “clearly in a state of extreme distress”.
“She has taken responsibility and apologized. We support this decision,” he said, detailing the threats she encountered during her six years as a lawmaker.
“Mr. Gorriz himself has been subjected to near-continuous sexual assault, physical violence, and death threats since the day he was elected,” he said. “There's almost always been a police investigation into these threats. If you're living with that level of threat in an already pretty stressful situation, there are going to be consequences.”
