Golriz Ghahraman, a former New Zealand MP, pled guilty to theft on Wednesday, a scandal that has destroyed the centre-left politician’s once promising career.
Ghahraman, the first refugee elected to New Zealand’s parliament, resigned from her political position on January 16, citing a need to manage her mental health.
Soon after, authorities charged the Green Party’s emerging star with stealing at boutique clothing stores.
The 43-year-old former justice spokesman for her party pleaded guilty to four counts of shoplifting on Wednesday in Auckland District Court, according to an official.
Ghahraman, a former human rights lawyer, stated at the time of her resignation that work-related stress caused 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.
Ghahraman was born in Iran and came to New Zealand as a kid with her family after being granted political asylum.
She studied law and worked as a United Nations human rights lawyer in international criminal courts before being elected to parliament in 2017.
Prior to the claims, Ghahraman had been chastised for her prominent role in a series of pro-Palestine protests.
Former Green Party co-leader James Shaw has stated that Ghahraman has faced “continuous threats” since the day she entered parliament, and that pressure had increased before to her crimes.