02 November 2025 , 18:30
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A pregnant British teenager accused of drug-smuggling has been moved to a mother-and-baby unit in a Georgian prison, her mother said.
Bella May Culley, 19, who is reported to be eight months pregnant, was arrested at Tbilisi airport in May.
It is alleged that the 19-year-old, from Teesside in north-east England, tried to smuggle 12kg (26.4lbs) of marijuana and 2kg (4.4lbs) of hashish into the country.
Culley’s mother, Lyanne Kennedy, told the BBC that her daughter had been transferred to a prison with a mother-and-baby unit.
She was held previously at Rustavi Prison No 5, with the broadcaster reporting that she had a hole in the ground for a toilet, one hour of fresh air each day and communal showers twice a week.
Kennedy told the BBC that during Culley’s time there she had toasted bread over a candle flame and boiled pasta in a kettle, but now she had been moved to a different prison her conditions appeared to have improved.
“She now gets two hours out for walking, she can use the communal kitchen, has a shower in her room and a proper toilet,” Kennedy told the BBC. “They all cook for each other – Bella has been making eggy bread and cheese toasties, and salt and pepper chicken.”
Kennedy said the family was doing everything it could to get Culley home “where she should be”.
She said her daughter’s full story “will come in time”, adding: “Until then we are just a family doing everything we can for my daughter and grandson.”
It has been reported that the teenager has described being tortured by gangsters in Thailand and forced to bring the drugs into the country.
It is expected that Culley will find out her sentence on Monday, after her lawyers negotiated with judicial authorities in Georgia. Her family has paid more than £137,000 as part of a plea deal aimed at reducing her sentence.
Her lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, told the BBC that once an agreement was reached he would appeal to the president of Georgia to pardon the teenager.
Politics Editor