Pregnant British teenager Bella Culley will give birth behind bars after a Georgian court sentenced her to two years in prison for drug smuggling. The 19-year-old student nurse from County Durham accepted a plea deal despite her family paying £140,000 in fines.
Culley is 25 weeks pregnant and due to give birth in December. When she asked the court if she could take her baby to prison, Judge Giorgi Gelashvili assured her: "Nobody is going to take the baby away from you."
The family had three weeks to raise £215,000 for her complete freedom but fell short of the full amount. They managed to pay 500,000 Georgian Lari (£138,000) as part of the plea bargain, with her father Niel Culley, an oil rig technician living in Vietnam, contributing to the payment.
Claims of Coercion
Culley maintains she was tortured by a Thai gang into smuggling drugs from Thailand to Georgia. Her lawyer Malkhaz Salakai told the court: "There was no malicious intent on Bella's part - she was pressured and forced and there is irrefutable evidence of that."
She claims gang members burned her with a hot iron and showed her a beheading video to force her compliance. Culley was arrested at Tbilisi International Airport in May carrying 34 packs of marijuana and 20 packs of hashish.
Court Proceedings
The defense requested bail due to her advanced pregnancy, but Judge Gelashvili denied the request, stating: "There are no legal grounds for changing her conditions, I am afraid."
Prosecutor Vakhtang Tsalugelashvili confirmed the plea terms: "The plea bargain has been reached, our conditions have been met - two years of imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 Georgian Lari."
Culley may be eligible for house arrest during her final month of pregnancy and potentially for up to 10 months after giving birth.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
