Latest news with #exSoviet
The Sun
17-05-2025
- The Sun
Ex-Soviet prison where pregnant Bella Culley faces life was slammed for not providing food or clothes to inmates' babies
HORRIFYING details about the brutal prison where Bella Culley faces life have emerged, as fears mount that the teen could raise her baby behind bars. Tbilisi prison No 5 has been slammed for not providing clothes, shoes or even food to inmates' babies. 9 9 9 9 Bella faces a sentence ranging from 15 years to life in jail after she was arrested at Tbilisi airport for allegedly entering the country with 34 bags of marijuana hidden in her luggage. The 18-year-old from Billingham, County Durham, claimed that she was pregnant in court earlier this week. The bombshell news sparked fears for her unborn baby, who may be raised behind bars in Georgia's notorious prison No 5. The ex-Soviet prison has previously been slammed for its grim conditions with a report raising concerns about the provision of clothes, shoes and even food for children on the inside. The shocking report was published by Public Defender of Georgia in 2015 after a visit to the female-only prison. According to the report, there were serious concerns over the provision of food for inmates' babies. Mums reportedly complained about the restrictions on the amount of food provided for children, with just one litre of milk allowed per week. Some mums even reported having to wait an entire month to receive the correct milk formula for their young ones. And it's not just food that's cause for concern. Inmate mums complained about a lack of clothing - especially warm jackets and boots - provided for their babies. Dad of Brit Bella Culley, who's being held in Georgia after vanishing on Thai hols, shares his fears This means for those inmates who cannot afford to buy extra clothes, their children are unable to leave the confines of the prison walls. The mums also complained about a lack of hygiene products, with a meagre two pieces of baby soap every month. They reportedly only receive small quantities of baby shampoo, baby powder, baby cream, baby oil, wet wipes, cotton buds, and delays in the supply-chain are not common. And the prison rooms are far from comfortable with no curtains on the windows, disrupting the babies' sleep. Experts have raised concerns for the unborn child which could spend the first three years of its life in these gruelling conditions. One source said: 'The prison has childcare facilities but it's clearly not the best place to bring up a child. 'The complications all add to the awful dilemma facing the family.' And it's not just the physical conditions inside the prison that experts are concerned about. There are also fears for the psychological well being of the unborn child. A 2018 report highlighting concerns about Georgian prisons warned that separating mothers from babies was 'very stressful for both'. It added: 'They require specialised psychological support and adaptation periods that may require weekend release from prison.' 9 9 Eliso Rukhadze, Georgian women's rights defender and lawyer previously told The Sun: 'Bella will be transferred to a hospital to have the baby and then rushed back to prison. 'For up to three years, the child would grow up there and the mom would have unrestricted access to the child - including breastfeeding. But Rukhadze warned that the child's nationality may cause "complications" in the process. She said: "The nationality will add complications. If the child is Georgian, and the family is British, they will have to take extra steps to be given wardship of the child. 'It won't be put up for adoption. The child will only be given to members of the family, but it adds an extra layer of bureaucracy.' Bella's pregnancy has yet to be confirmed by medical checks - but her dad Niel appeared distressed on Thursday as he faced the possibility of his first grandchild being born in prison. The dad told The Sun: 'I'm sorry - I don't want to say anything.' The teenager has not yet told her Georgian lawyer how she came to be carrying 31lbs of cannabis and hashish in a single hold bag. She was arrested within minutes of her arrival on a £550 Air Arabia flight via Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Tbilisi last Saturday following a suspected tip-off. Bella confided to a source close to the case that "love" was the reason she flew to Georgia. The source said yesterday: 'She said she was in love and that love was the reason she flew out to the Far East. 'But she has said nothing about why she had the drugs.' Bella's granddad William Culley, 80, revealed she appears to have spent most of March in Thailand but also spent time in the Philippines with a man called 'Ross or Russ'. Video clips and snaps show the student holding onto a man as she rides pillion on a scooter and another shows her smoking a cannabis spliff. Another on TikTok shows her joking about 'Bonnie and Clyde' crime hijinks and is captioned: 'Don't care if we on the run baby as long as I'm next to u.' But Bella's male companion's face never appears in the posts and he is never tagged - and only his silhouette is seen. It was unclear last night whether the mystery lover is the father of her child - whose birth looks certain to trigger uncertainty and heartache for her family. Bella's father and aunt did not appear to have been allowed inside the women's prison as daily visiting times ended at 6pm local time on Thursday evening. Her lawyer said that it could take up to five working days for them to be allowed in from the day she submitted a formal visit request on Thursday. 9 9
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Grim-faced father and aunt of British student 'drug mule' emerge from public defender's office in Georgia after they were blocked from seeing the 'depressed and scared' 18-year-old in prison
The father and aunt of British drugs mule suspect Bella Culley have been spotted emerging from the public defender's office in Georgia after they were blocked from seeing the 18-year-old in prison. Father Neil Culley, 49, and auntie Kerrie Culley, 51, touched down in Tbilisi yesterday and pushed for an emotional reunion with the 18-year-old who is accused of carrying 30lbs of cannabis into the ex-Soviet republic. Legal sources told the Mail the relatives tried to visit on Wednesday and again today, but were not allowed because the prison director has not signed relevant paperwork. It is understood they are pushing to visit tomorrow, but are reliant on officials signing it off. Culley was stopped at Tbilisi airport earlier this week in a suspected sting operation and found with 12kg of cannabis and 2kg of hashish with a street value of £200,000. She claimed in court she was pregnant and her lawyer said she had been left 'scared, confused and depressed'. The teenager has been preliminarily detained until July 1 while investigations are ongoing. She is languishing in notorious Women's Colony Number 5 on the outskirts of Tbilisi and could be facing 20 years in prison. Father Neil Culley, 49, and auntie Kerrie Culley, 51, touched down in Tbilisi yesterday and pushed for an emotional reunion with the 18-year-old who is accused of carrying 30lbs of cannabis into the ex-Soviet republic Culley's alleged offences have been covered by local news outlets in ex-Soviet nation, Georgia Her father and auntie have been locked in talks with British Embassy officials since their arrival and are not speaking to the press. Zurab Tatunashvili, a senior customs officer, described the discovery of drugs in the bag of the 18-year-old girl. He said: 'I was inspecting luggage using an X-ray scanner. 'One of the bags appeared suspicious based on its contents, so I marked it with a customs sticker, which indicates that it must undergo a physical inspection in the presence of the passenger in a specially designated room.' Culley's lawyer Ia Todua said: 'The detainee says that she is pregnant. She needs special examination and attention. In addition, in my assessment, she was depressed, confused and scared.' Todua told Radio Free Europe (RFE): 'When the accusation was presented, given that it was a foreign environment for her, it was her first time communicating with law enforcement officers, we agreed on such a position that she should exercise her right to remain silent in order to develop herself.' Law enforcement is expected to contact the suspect 'in a few days' in her detention jail. 'If she wishes to cooperate with the investigation in terms of providing certain information regarding the accusation, this will be agreed upon later,' reported RFE citing the lawyer. It is possible that a separate legal team will be hired. Todua confirmed earlier this week that Culley's father Neil was headed to Tbilisi after having flown to Thailand, where she initially went missing. The British Embassy in Tbilisi told RFE: 'We are assisting the family of the British woman detained in Georgia and are also in contact with the local authorities.' The report said that neither the Ministry of Internal Affairs nor the Customs Department of the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance in Tbilisi say which country the British woman entered Georgia from, nor whether Georgia was her final destination. Any onward travel plans have not been disclosed. But Todua told RFE that according to the case materials, Culley arrived in Georgia from Thailand and, according to her travel tickets, intended to stay in Georgia. The suspect is accused of carrying 34 hermetically sealed packages containing marijuana as well as 20 packages of hashish into the ex-Soviet republic. Culley sparked a massive international search operation in recent days after she was reported missing while she was believed to be holidaying in Thailand. On Tuesday night it was revealed the teen had been arrested 4,000 miles away on drug offences in Georgia. Footage shared by local broadcasters appeared to show the 18-year-old being walked into the Central Criminal Police Department in Tbilisi while in handcuffs. Culley was reportedly charged with illegally purchasing and storing a particularly large amount of narcotics, illegally purchasing and storing the narcotic drug marijuana, and illegally importing it into Georgia. The country's Interior Ministry has said the committed crime 'envisions up to 20 years - or life imprisonment,' and while she requested bail, the judge overseeing the case decided to imprison her as she posed a flight risk, local media reported. Now, the British teen could face two decades or more behind bars in the country's only female prison, Tbilisi Prison No.5, located 45 minutes away from the ex-Soviet capital. Stark photographs of the facilities sterile interior show what the life the teen could face if convicted and sentenced to imprisonment in Georgia - in a lock up reports say is decaying. When reports first emerged of Culley vanishing, it was believed she was on holiday in southeast Asia, as she was last believed to be in the Pattaya area, near Bangkok. Her phone was also believed to have been turned off. Cleveland Police have since said authorities in Georgia have confirmed that 'an 18-year-old woman from Billingham' had been arrested 'on suspicion of drugs offences and that she remains in their custody'. The teenager's family previously said she first flew out to the Philippines just after Easter this year and had then flown to Thailand around May 3. Culley had been regularly posting on social media and last shared a picture to Facebook on Monday, May 5. Her distraught family initially appealed for help to trace her whereabouts, with police in Thailand also involved in the search. Culley, who recently finished a course at Middlesbrough College with the aim of becoming a nurse, was in regular contact with her mother Lyanne Kennedy. She was scheduled to speak with her on Saturday. Her father Neil Culley and her aunt, Kerrie, had travelled to the southeast Asian country in a bid to get answers. But now, she faces time in Tbilisi Prison No.5. A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report into the lock up previously criticised the 'severely overcrowded' facility after they alongside Amnesty International and Penal Reform International urged the Georgian government to end ill-treatment in their prisons in 2006. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CPT) described the conditions at No 5 as 'degrading', 'inhuman' and as such 'an affront to a civilised society' that same year. A HRW report also detailed the facility as being in a 'state of disrepair' at the time, with 'crumbling' walls and floors with some inmates having to sit on 'two tier metal bunk beds' when they were not sleeping. The bathroom were described as 'decaying and flithy', while all the cells were said to have smelled 'strongly of human sweat, human excrement, and cigarette smoke,' with garbage also found scattered near cell doors. Before police confirmed Culley's arrest, her mother Lyanne told Teesside Live: 'She flew out to the Philippines after Easter with a friend and she was there for three weeks. 'She was posting loads of pictures and then she went to Thailand on about May 3. 'The last message she sent was to me and that was on Saturday at 5.30pm saying she was going to Facetime me later. 'That was the last message anyone has received from what we can figure out up to now. 'I'm just waiting on her dad who is now in Bangkok to get back with any more information. I just want her home and safe or to hear her gorgeous little voice.' Her distraught mother had also told the Sun that she had a bad feeling about the 18-year-old's trip to Thailand. 'I really didn't want her to go to Thailand. I begged her to come home. I don't trust some of the boys over there,' she said. 'But she wanted to meet up with some friends she made over there on a previous trip. I don't know who any of them are.' When Culley's father Neil was told by officers at the Bangkok police station to contact the country's immigration bureau to figure out where she was last staying. The family previously contacted an airline, who revealed that Culley had made a request for a ticket but the payment never went through. Lyanne said: 'When she stopped answering messages I assumed it was because she was flying back to surprise me. But then nothing.' The distraught mother added: 'We think she was last near Pattaya, and was supposed to fly back from Bangkok via Frankfurt according to the itinerary. 'But I never heard anything about picking her up.'
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Family of teenage British 'drugs mule' are blocked from seeing her in prison after arriving in Georgia - as her lawyer reveals she is 'depressed, confused and scared'
The family of British drugs mule suspect Bella Culley has been blocked from visiting her in prison after they landed in Georgia. Father Niel Culley, 49, and auntie Kerrie Culley, 51, touched down in Tbilisi yesterday and pushed for an emotional reunion with the 18-year-old who is accused of carrying 30lbs of cannabis into the ex-Soviet republic. Legal sources told the Mail the relatives tried to visit on Wednesday and again today, but were not allowed because the prison director has not signed relevant paperwork. It is understood they are pushing to visit tomorrow, but are reliant on officials signing it off. Culley was stopped at Tbilisi airport earlier this week in a suspected sting operation and found with 12kg of cannabis and 2kg of hashish with a street value of £200,000. She claimed in court she was pregnant and her lawyer said she had been left 'scared, confused and depressed'. The teenager has been preliminarily detained until July 1 while investigations are ongoing. She is languishing in notorious Women's Colony Number 5 on the outskirts of Tbilisi and could be facing 20 years in prison. Her father and auntie have been locked in talks with British Embassy officials since their arrival and are not speaking to the press. Culley's alleged offences have been covered by local news outlets in ex-Soviet nation, Georgia Zurab Tatunashvili, a senior customs officer, described the discovery of drugs in the bag of the 18-year-old girl. He said: 'I was inspecting luggage using an X-ray scanner. One of the bags appeared suspicious based on its contents, so I marked it with a customs sticker, which indicates that it must undergo a physical inspection in the presence of the passenger in a specially designated room.' Culley's lawyer Ia Todua said: 'The detainee says that she is pregnant. She needs special examination and attention. In addition, in my assessment, she was depressed, confused and scared.' Todua told Radio Free Europe (RFE): 'When the accusation was presented, given that it was a foreign environment for her, it was her first time communicating with law enforcement officers, we agreed on such a position that she should exercise her right to remain silent in order to develop herself.' Law enforcement is expected to contact the suspect 'in a few days' in her detention jail. 'If she wishes to cooperate with the investigation in terms of providing certain information regarding the accusation, this will be agreed upon later,' reported RFE citing the lawyer. It is possible that a separate legal team will be hired. Todua confirmed earlier this week that Culley's father Niel was headed to Tbilisi after having flown to Thailand, where she initially went missing. The British Embassy in Tbilisi told RFE: 'We are assisting the family of the British woman detained in Georgia and are also in contact with the local authorities.' The report said that neither the Ministry of Internal Affairs nor the Customs Department of the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance in Tbilisi say which country the British woman entered Georgia from, nor whether Georgia was her final destination. Any onward travel plans have not been disclosed. But Todua told RFE that according to the case materials, Culley arrived in Georgia from Thailand and, according to her travel tickets, intended to stay in Georgia. The suspect is accused of carrying 34 hermetically sealed packages containing marijuana as well as 20 packages of hashish into the ex-Soviet republic. Culley sparked a massive international search operation in recent days after she was reported missing while she was believed to be holidaying in Thailand. On Tuesday night it was revealed the teen had been arrested 4,000 miles away on drug offences in Georgia. Footage shared by local broadcasters appeared to show the 18-year-old being walked into the Central Criminal Police Department in Tbilisi while in handcuffs. Culley was reportedly charged with illegally purchasing and storing a particularly large amount of narcotics, illegally purchasing and storing the narcotic drug marijuana, and illegally importing it into Georgia. The country's Interior Ministry has said the committed crime 'envisions up to 20 years - or life imprisonment,' and while she requested bail, the judge overseeing the case decided to imprison her as she posed a flight risk, local media reported. Now, the British teen could face two decades or more behind bars in the country's only female prison, Tbilisi Prison No.5, located 45 minutes away from the ex-Soviet capital. Stark photographs of the facilities sterile interior show what the life the teen could face if convicted and sentenced to imprisonment in Georgia - in a lock up reports say is decaying. When reports first emerged of Culley vanishing, it was believed she was on holiday in southeast Asia, as she was last believed to be in the Pattaya area, near Bangkok. Her phone was also believed to have been turned off. Cleveland Police have since said authorities in Georgia have confirmed that 'an 18-year-old woman from Billingham' had been arrested 'on suspicion of drugs offences and that she remains in their custody.' The teenager's family previously said she first flew out to the Philippines just after Easter this year and had then flown to Thailand around May 3. Culley had been regularly posting on social media and last shared a picture to Facebook on Monday, May 5. Her distraught family initially appealed for help to trace her whereabouts, with police in Thailand also involved in the search. Culley, who recently finished a course at Middlesbrough College with the aim of becoming a nurse, was in regular contact with her mother Lyanne Kennedy. She was scheduled to speak with her on Saturday. Her father Neil Culley and her aunt, Kerrie, had travelled to the southeast Asian country in a bid to get answers. But now, she faces time in Tbilisi Prison No.5. A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report into the lock up previously criticised the 'severely overcrowded' facility after they alongside Amnesty International and Penal Reform International urged the Georgian government to end ill-treatment in their prisons in 2006. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CPT) described the conditions at No 5 as 'degrading', 'inhuman' and as such 'an affront to a civilised society' that same year. A HRW report also detailed the facility as being in a 'state of disrepair' at the time, with 'crumbling' walls and floors with some inmates having to sit on 'two tier metal bunk beds' when they were not sleeping. The bathroom were described as 'decaying and flithy', while all the cells were said to have smelled 'strongly of human sweat, human excrement, and cigarette smoke,' with garbage also found scattered near cell doors. Before police confirmed Culley's arrest, her mother Lyanne told Teesside Live: 'She flew out to the Philippines after Easter with a friend and she was there for three weeks. 'She was posting loads of pictures and then she went to Thailand on about May 3. 'The last message she sent was to me and that was on Saturday at 5.30pm saying she was going to Facetime me later. 'That was the last message anyone has received from what we can figure out up to now. 'I'm just waiting on her dad who is now in Bangkok to get back with any more information. I just want her home and safe or to hear her gorgeous little voice.' Her distraught mother had also told the Sun that she had a bad feeling about the 18-year-old's trip to Thailand. 'I really didn't want her to go to Thailand. I begged her to come home. I don't trust some of the boys over there,' she said. 'But she wanted to meet up with some friends she made over there on a previous trip. I don't know who any of them are.' When Culley's father Neil was told by officers at the Bangkok police station to contact the country's immigration bureau to figure out where she was last staying. The family previously contacted an airline, who revealed that Culley had made a request for a ticket but the payment never went through. Lyanne said: 'When she stopped answering messages I assumed it was because she was flying back to surprise me. But then nothing.' The distraught mother added: 'We think she was last near Pattaya, and was supposed to fly back from Bangkok via Frankfurt according to the itinerary.' 'But I never heard anything about picking her up.'
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Daily Mail
British woman, 19, faces life imprisonment after she is accused of smuggling 30lb of cannabis into ex-Soviet republic Georgia
A 19-year-old British woman has been detained in Tbilisi accused of carrying 14kg of cannabis into ex-Soviet republic Georgia. The woman - identified as B.K. - could face 20 years jail or even life imprisonment, said the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs. A video shows the handcuffed woman after she was held at Tbilisi Airport. 'During the inspection, 34 hermetically sealed packages containing marijuana were found in the passenger's bag, as well as 20 packages of hashish,' said a local report. Footage showed the drugs allegedly carried by the woman. She is accused of bringing 'a particularly large amount of narcotic drugs to Georgia'. The Interior Ministry said: 'B.K., born in 2006, is charged with illegally purchasing and storing a particularly large amount of narcotics, illegally purchasing and storing the narcotic drug marijuana, and illegally importing it into Georgia. 'The committed crime envisions up to 20 years - or life imprisonment. The woman - identified as B.K. - could face 20 years jail or even life imprisonment, said the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs. A video shows the handcuffed woman after she was held at Tbilisi Airport 'Law enforcement officers, as a result of the defendant's luggage inspection at Tbilisi International Airport, seized a particularly large amount of the narcotic drug marijuana, up to 12 kilograms, and 2.068 kg of the narcotic drug hashish in her travel bag.' Her luggage was identified as suspicious during a scanner check at the airport, said the ministry's statement. The ministry did not say where the woman was flying from when she was detained. The investigation is being conducted by the Central Criminal Police Department in Tbilisi. It comes just one week after a British man was hauled into court in Bali for allegedly smuggling a kilo of MDMA to the party island where drug crimes can result in the death penalty. Thomas Parker, a 32-year-old electrician from Cumbria who is accused of trying to push Class A drugs police said they recovered in a mail package, appeared in a white shirt and red waistcoat as he was hauled in front of a judge on May 7. The Interior Ministry said: 'B.K., born in 2006, is charged with illegally purchasing and storing a particularly large amount of narcotics, illegally purchasing and storing the narcotic drug marijuana, and illegally importing it into Georgia' Parker, from the small village of Seaton near Workington, was arrested at an AirBnB in the south of the Indonesian island in January as he was allegedly collecting the package, which contained over a kilogram of the party drug along with two mobile phones. Authorities claimed that officers had noticed him 'acting suspiciously' while collecting a package from a motorcycle taxi driver on January 21, before his arrest. Police approached Parker, who allegedly discarded the package in panic and fled the scene. He was traced back to the 7 Seas Villas in North Kuta, where he was arrested. Indonesia is known for its harsh punishments for drugs crimes, which can carry penalties of death by firing squad. General Rudy Ahmad Sudrajat, of the Bali Province National Narcotics Agency, said of Parker's arrest: 'After conducting a search and arrest, Thomas and the evidence were taken to the Bali Province National Narcotics Agency office for investigation.'
