A New Zealand Green Party MP was forced to resign from her parliamentary position after she was allegedly caught on camera shoplifting a luxury handbag.
Golriz Ghahraman, who previously held the small party’s Justice portfolio, was filmed looking around before slipping the handbag into her tote bag at Scotties Boutique in Auckland’s fashion shopping district Ponsonby on December 23.
The handbag allegedly stolen is a gray Issey Miyake, which ranges from around $274 and goes up to almost $1,600.
Upon her resignation from parliament, Ms Ghahraman said her behavior was “out of character” and was motivated by the stress of the job which caused a “previously unrecognized trauma”.
New Zealand Police said they were also investigating a second alleged incident involving Ms Ghahraman at Scotties, and received another report of her alleged shoplifting from Wellington store Cre8iveworx from October 26.
Ms Ghahraman was the first refugee elected to New Zealand’s parliament after arriving with her family from Iran as a child
After meeting with Green Party leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson, Ms Ghahraman left her seat, saying the pressures of office had taken a toll on her.
“It is clear to me that my mental health is being seriously affected by the stress associated with my work,” she said.
‘This has caused me to act in ways that are completely out of character. I’m not trying to excuse my actions, but I do want to explain them.”
Ms Ghahraman went on to say she “failed” to meet the “highest standards of behavior” people expect from elected representatives.
‘It is not a behavior that I can explain because it is not rational in any way, and after medical evaluation I understand that I am not well,” she said.
“The mental health professional I am seeing says my recent behavior is consistent with recent events that triggered extreme stress responses and is related to previously unrecognized trauma.
‘With that in mind, I will not hide behind my mental health issues and I take full responsibility for my actions, which I deeply regret.
‘I’ve let a lot of people down and I’m very sorry for that.
‘The best thing for my mental health is to resign as an MP and focus on my recovery and finding other ways to work for positive change in the world.’
New Zealand Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman has been forced to resign from parliament after being caught allegedly shoplifting
Video shows Ms Ghahraman allegedly stealing a designer label handbag while at an Auckland boutique
Cre8iveworx owner Melanie Smith said in an email that she had filed a police complaint against Ms Ghahraman.
Mr Shaw and MS Davidson told New Zealand media on Tuesday they supported Ms Ghahraman’s decision to resign, but she faced tensions beyond the norm for MPs.
“It is clear that Parliament is a stressful place for everyone, but Ghahraman has been subjected to constant threats of sexual violence, physical violence and death threats,” he said, revealing that police had investigated some of the incidents.
Ms Ghahraman was the first refugee to be sworn in as a New Zealand MP after arriving with her family from Iran as a child asylum seeker.
She was selected as the Green Party candidate in January 2017.
