New Zealand’s first refugee lawmaker resigns after claims of shoplifting

By KEIRAN SMITH
Associated Press

WELLINGTON (AP) — New Zealand’s first refugee lawmaker has resigned after several media reports aired allegations she had shoplifted at high-end local boutiques on at least three occasions. Without referring to the specific allegations, Golriz Ghahraman, a member of New Zealand’s Greens party, resigned with immediate effect citing “stresses relating to my work” led her to act “in ways completely out of character.” Ghahraman is an Iranian-born, Oxford-educated human rights lawyer who sought asylum in New Zealand after the Iran-Iraq war. She became the first refugee elected to New Zealand’s parliament in 2017.