Former Green Party standout Golriz Ghahraman, now infamous as New Zealand’s most high-profile shoplifter, saw her political career unravel after admitting earlier this year to stealing nearly $9,000 worth of items from high-end stores in Auckland and Wellington.
This afternoon, the former MP will return to the Auckland District Court for sentencing, where she will learn if her past career as a criminal defense lawyer is also at risk due to her retail theft spree.
The 43-year-old, who hasn’t practiced law since her prominent entry into Parliament in 2017, is expected to seek a discharge without conviction before Judge June Jelas. If granted, and the judge finds that the consequences of a conviction are disproportionate to her crimes, Ghahraman might be able to revive her legal career.
Without this discharge, she faces a potential sentence of up to seven years in prison. Although imprisonment is unlikely for a first-time offender like Ghahraman, even a lighter sentence, such as community service, could severely impact her ability to work as a barrister, according to retired University of Auckland law professor Bill Hodge.
Ghahraman’s political career began to crumble in January after it was revealed she was suspected of stealing over $7,800 worth of clothing from Scotties Boutique in Ponsonby just before Christmas last year. Further investigations revealed suspicions of her stealing $695 worth of clothing from Cre8tiveworx in Wellington last October and a $389 cardigan from Standard Issue in Newmarket during the same period.
The crimes were not sophisticated, as outlined in court documents. For example, during the December 22 Newmarket theft, Ghahraman chatted with the store manager before stuffing a navy blue jumper into her bag when the manager was distracted.
During her visit to the Ponsonby store on December 22, she concealed a $1,900 black Acne Studios coat in her tote bag while in the changing room and later stole a $160 Comme des Garcons wallet. The next day, she took several more items from the store, including a $650 Bao Bao Issey Miyake bag and a $4,500 Row Calanthe dress, despite a shop assistant’s suspicions.
An associate returned some of the stolen items later that day, but Ghahraman was not present.
CCTV footage from Scotties Boutique, later widely circulated, confirmed that it was indeed Ghahraman who had stolen the items.
Ghahraman resigned from Parliament on January 16, citing the severe impact of her actions on her mental health. In a statement, she apologized for her behavior, attributing it to extreme stress and previously unrecognized trauma.
Despite her admission of guilt, Ghahraman pleaded for understanding, highlighting her history of anxiety and previous psychological support mentioned in her 2020 memoir, Pull No Punches.
Notably, Ghahraman was New Zealand’s first refugee MP, celebrated for her work as a human rights lawyer with United Nations war crimes tribunals and her focus on criminal defense work in South Auckland upon her return to New Zealand in 2012.
She has pleaded guilty to all four shoplifting charges and her sentencing hearing is set to begin at 2:15 PM.
By FCCT Editorial Team freeslots dinogame telegram营销
, an independent military force, and allied militias in Sudan raped several dozen women and girls in West Darfur’s capital, El Geneina, and those fleeing to Chad between late April and late June 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The assailants appear to have targeted people because of their Massalit ethnicity and, in some cases, because they were known activists.){kind=link}