Golriz Garaman (43), who gained attention as New Zealand's first refugee-origin member of parliament but was prosecuted for shoplifting at a high-end clothing store, officially admitted to the charges in court. He voluntarily resigned from his parliamentary position in January when the theft allegations surfaced.
On the 13th (local time), New Zealand local media and AFP reported that Golriz Garaman, a former member of the New Zealand Green Party, admitted to the theft charges at the Auckland District Court. Former MP Garaman was prosecuted for stealing approximately 9,000 New Zealand dollars (about 7.3 million KRW) worth of clothing from luxury stores in Auckland and Wellington at the end of last year.
His theft suspicion became known when it was first reported by local media in January. The CCTV footage released by the media showed a woman looking around before stealing clothes and putting them into her bag. Subsequently, former MP Garaman announced that he was under police investigation for theft charges and would resign from his parliamentary position.
CCTV footage capturing Goliz Garaman putting stolen clothes into a bag [Photo source=New Zealand Herald YouTube capture]
At that time, he stated in a press release that he acknowledged his behavior did not meet the standards expected of a politician and that he needed time to recover his mental health. "The mental health professional I consulted explained that my behavior was a reaction to extreme stress and related to previously unrecognized trauma," he said. He added, "I do not want to hide behind my mental health issues and will take full responsibility for my regrettable actions," but he did not directly mention the theft charges.
Regarding this, James Shaw, co-leader of the Green Party, said that Garaman's resignation was the right decision but added, "Garaman had a difficult time enduring continuous threats during his term as a member of parliament," and "I empathize with the fact that he is suffering from severe mental distress." In fact, he received police protection in 2019 after receiving death threats and was recently criticized for actively participating in pro-Palestinian protests.
Former MP Garaman was born in Iran in 1981 and politically sought asylum in New Zealand with his family in 1990, shortly after the Iran-Iraq War. He later studied law and worked as a human rights lawyer at the International Criminal Court. He entered the New Zealand Parliament in 2017 and was re-elected as a member of parliament with a three-year term in the 2020 and 2023 general elections.
The New Zealand court is scheduled to deliver a verdict on Garaman's theft charges in June, and if found guilty, he could face up to seven years in prison.
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