A Former Lawmaker in New Zealand, Golriz Ghahraman has pleaded guilty to shoplifting on Wednesday, a scandal that has derailed a promising career in politics.
Ghahraman, the first refugee elected to New Zealand’s parliament, stepped down from her political duties on January 16, citing the need to address her mental health.
Soon after, police charged her with shoplifting from boutique clothing stores.
The 43-year-old, who previously served as her party’s justice spokeswoman, pleaded guilty on Wednesday at Auckland District Court to four counts of shoplifting.
A former human rights lawyer, Ghahraman said at the time of her resignation that work-related stress had led her to “act in ways that are completely out of character.
“I am not trying to excuse my actions, but I do want to explain them. I have let down a lot of people,” she said at the time.
Iran-born Ghahraman moved to New Zealand as a child with her family when they were granted political asylum.
After studying law, she became a United Nations human rights lawyer working on international criminal tribunals before entering parliament in 2017.
Former Member Of Parliament In New Zealand Pleads Guilty To Shoplifting
