A lawmaker from New Zealand has stepped down from her position as a result of the ongoing investigation into multiple allegations of shoplifting.
It is claimed that Green Party member Golriz Ghahraman stole three times from two different clothes retailers in Auckland and Wellington.
In 2017, the former UN human rights attorney became the nation’s first refugee to be granted government status. Her party’s justice portfolio was once held by her.
She claimed that her out-of-character conduct was caused by the stress she experienced at work.
“I have let down a lot of people and I am very sorry,” she said.
Ms Ghahraman and her family were awarded political asylum in New Zealand after they left Iran when she was a child.
She resigned on Tuesday after the release of a CCTV video purportedly showing her stealing an expensive purse from a store in Auckland.
A statement from the 42-year-old, who is not facing any criminal charges at this time, indicated that she had “fallen short” of the public’s expectations for the conduct of a representative.
“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,” she said, adding that she did not want to make excuses for herself.
“The mental health professional I see says my recent behaviour is consistent with recent events giving rise to extreme stress response, and relating to previously unrecognised trauma.”
James Shaw, a co-leader of the Green Party, stated in response to Ms Ghahraman’s resignation that she had endured “pretty much continuous threats of sexual violence, physical violence, death threats since the day she was elected to Parliament.”
“That has added a higher level of stress than is experienced by most members of parliament,” according to him.
“There have been police investigations into those threats almost the entire time that she has been a member of parliament, and so obviously if you’re living with that level of threat in what is already quite a stressful situation then there are going to be consequences for that”.
It is no secret that Ms Ghahraman’s Iranian background, gender, and public opinions on several subjects have made her the target of online and in-person harassment.
According to her interview with the national station TVNZ in 2021, she said that she had to carry a security alarm and had security escorts travel back and forth from Parliament due to the internet threats she encountered.
In 2017, in response to threats made by white nationalists, Ms. Ghahraman was provided with an escort.
As the Green Party’s spokesman for international relations and human rights, she has lately been under fire for her stances on pro-Palestinian rallies and Israel’s military activities in the conflict in Gaza.
Marama Davidson, a fellow Green Party co-leader, agreed that Ms Ghahraman’s resignation was the correct decision, but she added that they would still back her since they could see she was struggling.
“We have seen the conversation over the past years, especially over the particular treatment of women with public profiles, and in addition, the particular treatment of women of colour with public profiles,” Ms Davidson said.
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