A pregnant British teenager facing 20 years in a Georgian prison for drug smuggling has been offered freedom in exchange for a substantial financial payment, as negotiations between prosecutors and defence lawyers near completion.
Bella Culley, 19, from Billingham on Teesside, appeared at Tbilisi City Court on Monday where Judge Giorgi Gelashvili praised “ongoing success in negotiations” and adjourned her trial to allow plea bargain discussions to continue.
The teenager was arrested at Tbilisi International Airport in May with 31 pounds of cannabis worth £200,000 hidden in her luggage, leading to charges that could result in life imprisonment.
Defence lawyer Malkhaz Salakaia told journalists outside court that Culley could be released immediately if her family pays the sum demanded by Georgian prosecutors.
If her family is ready to pay the sum that the state is demanding, she can go straight to the airport,” Salakaia stated.
The teenager’s mother, Lyanne Kennedy, expressed panic over the financial demands following the hearing.
It’s a lot of money for us,” Kennedy said outside Tbilisi City Court.
“They offered us a layered approach: this and this much to let her go immediately, and then another lower offer where she serves some amount.”
Kennedy added: “I don’t know what to do.”
Salakaia confirmed the family faces a choice between paying a larger fine for immediate release or a reduced sum that would still require Culley to serve prison time.
“Negotiations are close to completion. The higher the fine will be, the less time she will serve including a full release,” the lawyer explained.
“That’s what we are negotiating on at the moment. At this moment, Bella’s family isn’t ready to pay the amount requested.
The defence lawyer added: “It all depends on Bella’s parents. The prosecution is willing to let her go on the same day the demanded amount is paid.”
Culley, who is 22 weeks pregnant with a baby boy, claims she was forced to smuggle the drugs by a Thai gang who tortured her with a hot iron and showed her a beheading video.
The teenager vanished whilst holidaying in Thailand in May before surfacing in Georgia, where authorities detained her with 12 kilograms of marijuana and 2 kilograms of hashish.
During court proceedings, Salakaia requested bail on a 50,000 lari (£13,750) bond, citing his client’s pregnancy.
She will be here in Tbilisi, her family will take care of her, and she is ready to cooperate,” he told the court.
Judge Gelashvili refused bail but told Salakaia he could schedule the next hearing “the very moment you reach an agreement.”
The case was adjourned until 9 October, though proceedings could resume earlier if a plea deal is reached.
Under Georgian law, trafficking more than 10 pounds of marijuana carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and can result in up to 30 years imprisonment.
Possession of 10,000 pounds or more carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years and fines up to $1 million (£775,000).
Georgia’s strict drug laws make no distinction between possession for personal use and trafficking when quantities exceed certain thresholds.
Culley had been documenting her travels on social media before disappearing, first visiting the Philippines in April before continuing alone to Thailand on 3 May.
Her family reported her missing when communication ceased, triggering an international search before Georgian authorities announced her arrest.
The teenager previously told the court: “I didn’t want to do this. I was forced by torture. All I wanted to do was to travel and this happened to me.
“I’m clean – I had nothing in my blood test. I wanted to make my family proud.”
Thai police have disputed Culley’s torture claims, with Lieutenant General Choengron Rimpadee stating “there is absolutely no factual basis to her claims” whilst presenting CCTV footage from Bangkok airport.
The teenager is currently detained in Women’s Prison No 5, Tbilisi’s only female prison, where she has been held since May.
During a July hearing, Culley made an emotional appeal to the judge: “I hope you understand my story through my eyes. I never thought something like this would happen to me.”
Her lawyer previously claimed Culley had not checked in the bag containing drugs and was handed a passport and ordered to take the flight to Georgia via Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office states it cannot secure release for British nationals detained in Georgia or arrange special treatment based on nationality.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry confirmed the charges carry penalties of “up to 20 years or life imprisonment.
The country has become an increasingly popular transit route for drug smuggling operations targeting young Western tourists as mules.
Cannabis remains illegal in Georgia despite recent legalisation in neighbouring countries, with the nation maintaining some of Europe’s strictest drug laws.
Culley’s case highlights the risks facing young travellers targeted by international drug trafficking networks operating across Southeast Asia.
The teenager faces giving birth in prison if her family cannot meet the financial demands for her release before October’s hearing.
Georgian prosecutors have not disclosed the exact sum being demanded for Culley’s immediate release.
Follow for more updates on Britannia Daily
