Pregnant 'drug smuggling' Brit's 'hellhole' prison - no hygiene or running water
Bella May Culley, 18, must endure a roughly 55 day wait at Tblisi's Women's Prison No 5 as lawyers gather evidence pertinent to her case before it goes to trial this summer
Bella May Culley's nightmare incarceration has seen the teenager left in a "hellhole" facility known for its lack of running water and bad hygiene.
Ms Culley, 18, from Teesside, popped up unexpectedly in Georgia last week claiming to be pregnant and accused of having transported dozens of packets of cannabis into the former Soviet nation - just days after her family had reported her missing in Thailand. Authorities in the former Soviet nation have kept her in custody after a judge decided she could pose a flight risk, interning her at Tblisi's only women's prison, the infamous Women's Prison No 5. Ms Culley will spend several weeks tucked away in No 5 as lawyers gather evidence, with the process set to take around 55 days, though this could be longer.
Running water issues
A report submitted by the Ombudsman of Georgia in 2015 found that the facility where Ms Culley is currently staying had several issues with water. Among them, the report found, is that running water in the cells is "unsuitable for drinking", something that has caused "dissatisfaction among the convicts".
The report adds that people also don't have easy access to hot water, despite the need for convicts to "wash their dishes and personal items". It also states: "Often there is a need for special personal hygiene measures, for example during an inmate's menstrual cycle."
Cold water, the authors state, "impacts negatively on a woman's health, possibly causing skin irritation, narrowing blood vessels and worsening blood circulation". They add: "Inflammation of small bones in the hands (rheumatoid arthritis) can develop and cause deformation."
Poor hygiene
Two ombudsman visits in 2023 came after inmates complained about the lack of access to proper hygiene, an issue that had persisted since the 2015 report. The report state that prisoners were not provided with tampons or sanitary towels, and that people who cannot buy them are forced to use other, "often unhygenic" materials instead.
The earlier report stated that hygiene standards at No 5 were "violated significantly" in the facility's bathrooms, and even made mention of conditions for foreign inmates. Authors said "special attention" should be paid to ensure "foreign citizen inmates are provided with products for personal hygiene".
It adds that this is required as "communication with their family members is limited and they are not able to receive parcels as frequently as local inmates."
Invasive inspections
The same report mentions that prisoners have also complained about "degrading" treatment, especially when they are joining the population as new intake. New intake prisoners, the report said, are "inspected naked and are requested to squat", something inmates said felt "degrading."
The report added: "It should be mentioned that such inspections take place every time an accused/convicted person enters or leaves the penitentiary facility. According to inmates, this procedure is especially humiliating and intensive during an inmate's menstrual cycle. In some cases, because of the nature of such procedures, inmates refuse services offered outside of the facility or choose to miss court hearings."
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