Bella May Culley is reportedly sharing a cell with two inmates at notorious Women’s Penitentiary Number Five in Georgia, where she was detained on drug offences
Bella May Culley has complained she hasn’t had medical care in jail despite her pregnancy.
The teenager, detained in Georgia on suspicion of trying to bring drugs into the country, has spoken to lawyer Mariam Kublashvili, who spoke to the press on Monday. She said: “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, 18, has also asked for a jumper, warmer clothes and fresh fruit. The lawyer understands the fruit – and requests for tuna – are pregnancy cravings. Culley, from Billingham, County Durham, is reportedly sharing a cell with two inmates at notorious Women’s Penitentiary Number Five in the nation, which borders Russia.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ms Kublashvili continued: “She asked me for tuna fish which I thought was odd and might have been something to do with pregnancy cravings – but fish cannot be sent in. She told me no tests, checks or medical examinations have been done. She said she asked for a doctor, but the doctor wasn’t speaking English and they couldn’t understand each other.”
READ MORE: Bella May Culley hates Georgia prison food and wants to come home, lawyer says
It is understood the prosecutor asked for 55 days to gather evidence against Culley, who had recently finishing a college programme in the UK in the hope to become a nurse. This aspiration remains in jeopardy, however, particularly if the legal case progresses in Georgia. She is accused of having smuggled dozens of bags of cannabis and hashish into the country following her tour of South East Asia.
But the police investigation has sparked concern among legal experts here. Retired police general Jamal Janashia told the Mirror: “I would like to express my worry that the operation [to arrest Bella] was stopped too early before it could reach its logical conclusion before we could find out who she was in contact with, who she was going to, and so on. Maybe it’s the first attempt.
“It’s a test run from Thailand to check whether it [the route] would work but we won’t know because it was stopped. Had the operation been done properly, we would have found out what the final destination was. I have suspicion that the final destination is likely to be Europe rather than Georgia.”
Photographs show the sterile interior of Women’s Penitentiary Number Five jail in Georgia. Local reports allege it to be decaying. Media has also reported on the how cramped and unsanitary conditions are there.
It is believed Culley’s family had lost contact with the woman during her trip to Thailand, which began around May 3. Her backpacking journey started in the Philippines just after Easter, it is understood. However, the young woman was detained last week. The case continues.