Bella May Culley, 18, from Teesside faces life in prison after she was detained in Georgia on drugs charges after she was reported as missing in Thailand by her family
British teen Bella May Culley is currently languishing inside a hellhole jail in Georgia after she was arrested on suspicion of smuggling dozens of bags of drugs into the country.
Culley, 18, sensationally told the court she was pregnant after she was detained for allegedly carrying about 12kg of cannabis and about 2kg of hashish into Georgia. Should the Teesside teen be found guilty, she faces a lengthy spell in prison, which could be a life sentence. The teen has been travelling around South East Asia in the weeks prior to her arrest and was reported missing in Thailand when she did not respond to her family’s messages.
Culley is now being held at Women’s Prison No. 5, near the capital Tbilisi, where murderer Magda Papidze is understood to be held. She has complained about her medical care behind bars and the food she is being given by prison staff.
Her lawyer explained Culley is “getting along well” with two cellmates. Culley’s family have since raced to Georgia to support the teenager as she navigates the former Soviet Union nation’s legal system.
Here is everything we know so far as Culley continues to struggle inside the Georgian jail…
Asian travel before arrest
Culley shared several photos and videos from her travels across South East Asia, stating on TikTok she would “literally be up for anything” before drawing a hard limit at smoking or doing drugs. She added: “I will literally be up for anything. But if you ask me to smoke a fag or a vape or do any drug I will look at you like you are s*** on my shoe.”
Her mum Lyanne Kennedy said her daughter was not a fan of the “party lifestyle” and that she chose to take her trip to Thailand from the Philippines as part of a spur-of-the-moment decision instead of going with a friend to Spain. Ms Kennedy added she did not “trust some of the boys over there.”
Arrest in Georgia
Culley, from Billingham, County Durham, was detained at Tbilisi Airport on May 11 while she was the subject of a missing person’s search operation in Thailand some 4,000 miles away. It is unclear whether Georgia was the intended destination or whether the drugs were meant to end up in another country.
General Jemal Janashia, the former head of Georgia’s national bureau, urged Culley to full cooperate with police. He also said he felt sorry for Culley, adding she was “clearly used and manipulated.”
The lawyer representing Culley revealed the prosecutor asked for 55 days to gather evidence against her. This indicates a trial against the teen could begin as soon as July.
Pregnancy claim
Bella May Culley complained she has not received medical care in prison despite her pregnancy. Lawyer Mariam Kublashvili said on Monday: “She is pregnant and needs medical care which she complained she wasn’t getting – there were no tests or checks or medical examinations done, she told me.
“She said she asked for a doctor, but the doctor wasn’t speaking English and they couldn’t understand each other.” Culley made the stunning revelation that she was pregnant during a court appearance in Georgia following her arrest.
Her family stated they were unaware she was pregnant until they heard her statement in court.
Reaction to allegations
Culley was said to be “visibly shaken” when she was informed about the severity of the alleged crime. Her state-appointed lawyer, Is Touda disclosed: “When I explained to her that what she was accused of was an especially severe crime then she was concerned and visibly shaken.”
When asked about whether Culley realised the full extent of the allegations against her, Ms Touda added: “My impression was that she ended up in Georgia without even knowing what she was doing. She looked like she didn’t expect it to have such severe consequences.”
Should Culley be found guilty, she could face a life sentence in prison in the worst-case scenario.
Hellhole prison
Culley is being held in Georgia’s only female prison just outside of the capital Tbilisi. Women’s Prison No. 5 has been the subject of controversy in the past with prisoners having complained about “degrading” treatment.
A 2015 report from a monitoring group with the Georgian Public Ombudsman revealed the new intake of prisoners are “inspected naked and are requested to squat” which inmates said they found to be “degrading.” The report added: “It should be mentioned that such inspections take place every time an accused/convicted person enters or leaves the penitentiary facility.
“According to inmates, this procedure is especially humiliating and intensive during an inmate’s menstrual cycle. In some cases, because of the nature of such procedures, inmates refuse services offered outside of the facility or choose to miss court hearings.”
Search for ‘Russ/Ross’
Bella mentioned that she had met a man called “Russ” or “Ross” while she was travelling in the Philippines. The man remains unidentified but authorities are investigation any possible connection he might have to Culley’s alleged subsequent activities.
Her granddad William Culley, 80, revealed she had spent most of March in Thailand but also that she met “Ross or Russ” in the Philippines. He added: “She’s got sucked into something, somehow.”
Family races to Georgia
Culley’s family raced to Georgia after it emerged she had been detained in the country. Family members alerted authorities in Thailand after she did not message them back.
Her dad Niel and aunt Kerrie visited Ia Touda on Friday although it was unclear whether they had met Culley. They arrived in the country after the allegations were made against Culley.
“She has the right to demand this short-term visit from her family, through the decision of the prosecution,” Ms Touda previously added. “She’s not cut off from outside contact. She is allowed small meetings.”