Ex-Green MP Golriz Ghahraman loses appeal in Auckland and Wellington shoplifting case

Defense lawyer Annabelle Cresswell told the district court in June that the mental health report formed the core of her submissions regarding her request to be released without conviction. The study found a “clear diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress disorder” with two key contributing factors: her early years in war-torn Iran and the “public vitriol, threats and insults” she received while serving in parliament.

Cresswell said “threats of rape and death were constant, persistent and credible” to the extent that her security detail was similar to that of the Prime Minister.

She described “loss-reactive shoplifting,” in which otherwise law-abiding people steal, as part of a mental health crisis.

The fact that she had so much to lose was indicative of a mental health crisis, Cresswell said.

“This offense was extremely out of character,” she explained. “She didn’t need the things that were taken.”

Alisha McClintock QC, representing the police, argued against dismissal without conviction during the sentencing hearing. The connection between Ghahraman’s mental health and her criminal behavior was not as strong as the defense represented, the prosecutor said, noting that a mental health expert found there was a “possible connection.”

“The likelihood of this happening is nothing more than a possibility,” she said.

While a conviction could make it difficult to reinstate a legal career, that decision would ultimately be made by the Law Society, McClintock said.

According to her, the crime had signs of premeditation.

“It was a series of insults,” McClintock explained. “This is not a one-time event. This is not a “moment of madness” type case.

According to her, there could be another explanation for the offense other than a mental health disorder: “She just needed the things that she took.

“On the face of it, this explanation, given the (premeditated) nature of the behavior, appears to be the more likely of the two,” she said.

McClintock also suggested that Judge Gelas take into account the breach of public trust, given that “certain standards are expected of a person in her position and her role – as a former lawyer and member of Parliament” – as well as a “heightened understanding of the meaning of their conduct”.

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Craig Captain is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand since 2002.

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