Bella Culley, who is pregnant, is on her way back to the United Kingdom today after being granted permission to take a non-stop flight.
The 19-year-old Bella was detained in Georgia on charges related to drug trafficking but was released yesterday on compassionate grounds. Accompanied by her mother Lyanne Kennedy, 44, she is traveling back to her residence in Billingham, Teesside, via an easyJet flight scheduled to arrive at London Luton Airport at 7 pm. Malkhaz Salakaia, the teenager’s attorney, affirmed that she did not require special authorization to board the direct flight despite concerns about exceeding the typical 36-week flying restriction.
Initially facing sentencing in Georgia for allegedly smuggling 12kg (26lb) of marijuana and 2kg (4.4lb) of hashish in her checked luggage at Tbilisi international airport in May, Culley spent five months in a former Soviet penitentiary. She reported being compelled to cook pasta in a kettle for sustenance and create a makeshift toilet by digging a hole in the ground during her incarceration.
Although the original expectation was a two-year prison term, her sentence was reduced to five months and 25 days following the endorsement of a plea agreement by prosecutors and Culley’s legal team on Monday. Her lawyer disclosed that modifications were made to the plea deal by prosecutors, who, considering her youth and pregnancy, opted to grant her freedom.
Prosecutor Vakhtang Tsalugelashvili stated: “We proposed this – we took her age, health status, good conduct, and full cooperation into account.” A court insider mentioned that Georgian authorities decided to show leniency to the teenager due to her nearing childbirth.
Video footage captured outside the courthouse depicted the teenager looking shocked and appreciative as she departed with her lawyer. Following her release, Ms. Culley expressed her relief to the media, stating, “I feel relieved.” She confessed to being surprised by her release and expressed gratitude for the news. When asked about her prison experience, she glanced at her mother Lyanne, who shook her head in disapproval, indicating, “Bella, no.”
Culley is now expected to be collected from Luton by car and taken back to her residence in the North East.
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