The sloppy serial shoplifting saga

We are now getting a clearer timeline of the shoplifting allegations against Green MP Golriz Ghahraman, and the involvement of the Green Party in (not) investigating serious criminal allegations.

The allegations, if they lead to charges, carry a maximum penalty of seven years jail. A conviction would result in automatic expulsion from Parliament. A conviction could also get Ghahraman disbarred as a lawyer. So these are not trivial issues.

The timeline, known so far is:

• Sat 23 Dec. Ghahraman is allegedly observed (and possibly on video) putting $15,000 of items into her bag. She was stopped by staff but refused to open her bag (even though they had the legal right to search it, as the suspected stolen items were over $1,000) and left. Hours later the clothing was reported to have been anonymously returned to the store. Scotties allegedly e-mailed video of the incident to both the Greens and Police.
• Wed 27 Dec. Green co-leaders claim they were only notified that day of the shoplifting allegation. They claim the situation was “not clear” and that as Ghahraman was on an overseas holiday, they decided to do nothing until she returned. It seems incredible that you would be notified that your Justice Spokesperson has been accused of shoplifting, and decide that her holiday takes precedence over determining what happened.
• Fri 5 Jan. Green co-leaders notified that there is video evidence of a second shoplifting incident in late November or early December. They imply at this point they asked Ghahraman to stand down, but didn’t make this public as the alleged victim didn’t want publicity. They seem to think allegations of criminal behaviour against their justice spokesperson is a private matter. Also unanswered is why they didn’t announce the stand down, without naming the alleged victim?
• Wed 10 Jan. Story hits media after ZB Plus publishes story. Only at this stage do Greens say anything publicly.
• Thu 11 Jan. Police (finally) start to investigate complaint.
• Fri 12 Jan. Co-leaders confirm they have known for at least 16 days of the alleged shoplifting by their Justice Spokesperson. Noticeably there has still been no denial of the alleged facts by Ghahraman or the Greens.