Bella Culley, a young British woman involved in a drug smuggling case, was seen displaying her baby bump as she walked out of a Georgian prison, thanks to a rare act of leniency from prosecutors.
The 19-year-old, originally facing a two-year prison sentence, received a reprieve at the last moment. Her release was attributed to her age, good conduct, and the fact that she is expecting a child.
Outside Tbilisi City Court, her mother, Lyanne Kennedy, 44, could not hold back tears of relief and joy. She expressed her happiness to reporters, saying, “I am so happy – so happy. I know I don’t look like it, but I am so happy. We will need to get her passport and then we leave. Either today or tomorrow.”
Upon gaining her freedom, Culley eagerly called her father to share the news, exclaiming, “I’m not in jail anymore,” after he had paid a substantial fine for her release.
Niel Culley, the father who managed to raise the £140,000 necessary for her release, was overheard joyfully responding, “Wahey, that is brilliant,” while Lyanne Kennedy walked beside her daughter, hand in hand.
As she exited prison, Bella, visibly pregnant in a purple tracksuit and beige jacket, was asked by her father about her future plans now that she has regained her freedom.
Bella responded: ‘We’re just walking down so we will phone you when we get back to the hotel. Love you, Dad, bye.’
She looked visibly overwhelmed as reporters gathered outside the court, before ushering her lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia to answer questions on her behalf.
Moments earlier, Judge Giorgi Gelashvili accepted the plea bargain, meaning Culley could walk free from Georgian jail and be permitted to return to the UK.
Reporters heard Culley erupting into ecstatic cries and laughter on being told of the new proposal by the prosecution moments before the hearing.
She was then seen beaming as she signed the paperwork with her mother, laughing excitedly.
Reporters heard Culley break into excited cries and laughter as she was told about the U-turn
Culley looked visibly overwhelmed as reporters gathered outside court to speak to her
Culley was seen with her baby bump as she walked with her family and spoke to her father on the phone
Culley and her mum seen in an emotional embrace as they enter a vehicle to leave the court premises
Lyanne, a charity worker, and Culley’s father, Niel Culley, 49, had been forced to pay a staggering £140,000 fine to reduce the sentence last week.
The plea deal should still have seen the teenager serve two years in jail with six months reduced for time already served after she was found entering the country with £200,000 worth of cannabis in May.
But arriving at court in the Black Sea nation’s capital this morning, Malkhaz Salakaia, defending, said there had been a last minute reprieve.
‘She is being released, she walks free,’ he said. ‘She doesn’t know yet.
‘I got the information literally 15 minutes ago and informed her mum, who has just about stopped crying.’
Prosecutor Vakhtang Tsalugelashvili said: ‘It was our initiative – we took into consideration her age, her condition and her good behaviour, and that she fully cooperated.’
Mr Tsalugelashvili said in court: ‘The plea bargain has been concluded, now we would like to refer to the judge.
‘We ask the judge to find Bella Culley guilty of 242a of the Georgian criminal code and be sentenced to five months and 25 days in prison with an additional fine of 500,000GEL.
‘The confiscated drugs will be destroyed, including her bag, while other personal belongings will be returned to her.’
Judge Giorgi Gelashvili asked: ‘So that means the requested time of arrest is already out?’ Mr Tsalugelashvili said: ‘Yes, we would like her to be released today.’
Malkhaz Salakaia, defending, said: ‘We do hope that the judge agrees with the prosecution, and she will be released today and will become a mother in calmer, more stable conditions.’
Culley was seen in a grey top nodding in agreement as Judge Gelashvili told her she would have no mitigating circumstances if caught repeating the offences.
Asked if she had any complaints about her time in prison, the teenager said she had none.
Mr Gelashvili said: ‘The court concludes that the plea bargain between the prosecution, represented by Prosecutor Vakhtang Tsalugelashvili, and defence represented by Bella Culley and Malkhaz Salakaia has been reached and is deemed satisfactory by the court.
‘The sentence is five months and 24 days and an additional fine of 500,000 Georgian lari. The arrest will be rescinded as the time spent in preliminary detention will be taken into account.’
Earlier in the morning, Culley’s mother, Lyanne Kennedy seen arriving in court today. She and Culley’s father had been forced to pay a £140,000 fine to reduce her sentence
Bella Culley was seen speaking to journalists after her release from prison today
Bella Culley is set to walk free from prison in a dramatic U-Turn. She was initially meant to be sentenced to two years in prison
Culley and her mother hugged in court after the sentence was read out. The teenager then said: ‘I didn’t expect this at all. This is a huge surprise.’
Culley is due to give birth before Christmas after falling pregnant while travelling South East Asia with a man she said was not involved in drug smuggling.
The teenager did not even know Georgia was a country when she was arrested, touching down in the capital, Tbilisi, in May.
She has insisted that a British gang threatened to kill her family if she didn’t do as they told her before being found with £200,000 worth of cannabis in her luggage.
Culley claims she was forced to peddle the drugs from Thailand to Georgia, claiming she was burned with a hot iron and shown a beheading video by a Thai gang.
She then claims she flew to Tbilisi – thinking that was the name of a country – not knowing she had 14kg of illegal cargo hidden in her bags.
It follows a huge surge in backpackers being targeted and groomed by British gangs who have flocked to Thailand.
The country recently legalised cannabis, meaning there is a massive illicit trade in smuggling it to Britain for huge mark ups.
After the National Crime Agency shut down a scheme to post it to Britain, they have reverted to grooming drug mules.
