A pregnant woman accused of being a drug courier, Bella Culley, was reported to have improvised by toasting bread over a candle and sharing communal showers in her prison cell in Georgia, according to her mother.
The 19-year-old, expected to deliver her baby in December, is soon to face a formal sentencing after being charged with drug trafficking earlier this year in Georgia. Bella, a student nurse from Billingham, Teesside, disappeared in Thailand in May and reappeared in Georgia, where she was apprehended with 11kg of cannabis and over 400g of hashish in her luggage.
Bella’s mother, Lyanne Kennedy, disclosed that the British teenager has been relocated to a specialized prison unit for mothers and babies. She spent five months in harsh conditions at Georgia’s Rustavi Prison Number Five, including a basic cell with a hole for a toilet, communal showers twice weekly, and only one hour of outdoor time daily.
The mother also informed the BBC that the new unit provides improved amenities, allowing Bella more freedom, access to a communal kitchen, in-room showers, and proper sanitation facilities. The inmates cook for each other, with Bella preparing dishes like eggy bread, cheese toasties, and salt and pepper chicken.
The case of Bella has drawn attention to Georgia’s stringent drug laws and penalties for drug trafficking. She has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in Georgia and is facing a two-year prison term.
During a court session in Tbilisi, Bella’s mother, a charity worker, and her father, Niel Culley, a 49-year-old oil rig technician, managed to pay a substantial sum of 500,000 Georgian Lari (£138,000) to the court. This payment, according to Bella’s lawyer, will influence the length of her sentence, potentially reducing it significantly.
Bella alleged that she was coerced into smuggling drugs by criminals who subjected her to torture, including branding her with a hot iron and showing her a gruesome video to intimidate her. In a previous court appearance, she stated that she was forced against her will and had no intention of engaging in illicit activities.
Her lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, confirmed that Bella admitted to smuggling drugs into Georgia after traveling from Thailand through the United Arab Emirates.