The family of a pregnant British teenager held on drug smuggling charges in Georgia has paid £138,000 in a plea bargain deal that could result in a two-year jail sentence. Bella Culley, 19, a student nurse from Billingham, Teesside, may give birth while imprisoned in the former Soviet republic.
Culley was arrested at Tbilisi airport in May after being stopped with, it is alleged, 14kg of cannabis worth £200,000 in a travel bag. She had been travelling in south-east Asia and was reported missing in Pattaya, Thailand. At a court hearing on Tuesday, Culley’s mother, Lyanne Kennedy, said the family had raised 500,000 lari (£137,870) and were waiting for the funds to be credited to the relevant government account.
The family had been attempting to raise £225,000 in the hope of securing Culley’s immediate release. However, reports from the courtroom indicate that prosecution and defence lawyers agreed a deal whereby the lesser amount will be paid in exchange for a two-year sentence. Culley had previously been told she could face up to 20 years or life imprisonment if convicted.
The sentence is due to be handed down by a judge on 3 November. One possibility is that Culley is permitted to have her baby while under house arrest, rather than inside the women’s prison. She smiled and waved at her family during Tuesday’s hearing. Afterwards, Kennedy said of her daughter: “She’s looking big, pregnant, but she looks strong.”
Culley had previously pleaded not guilty, claiming she had been tortured into taking the drugs into Georgia. At a hearing in July, she said: “I just wanted to travel. I am a good person. I am a student at university. I am a clean person. I don’t do drugs.” On Tuesday, she pleaded guilty and asked the judge: “Will I be able to take the baby with me if I go back to jail?” The judge responded: “Nobody is going to take the baby away from you.”
Prosecutor Vakhtang Tsalugelashvili told the court: “The plea bargain has been reached, our conditions have been met – two years of imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 Georgian lari.” Culley’s lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, confirmed the deal. An application for bail was refused on the grounds that a doctor had said the conditions Culley is in were “satisfactory”.
