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DRUGS arrest teen Bella Culley changed her backpacking plans last minute to follow a gang of British lads to Thailand, it has emerged.
The nursing student originally jetted to the…
A BRITISH teenager arrested for smuggling drugs is “depressed, confused and scared” as she faces possible life imprisonment in Georgia, her lawyer has said.
Pregnant Bella May Culley, 18, from Billingham, has appeared in court after being arrested in Tbilisi.
Bella May Culley appearing in court this week[/caption]
She faces possible life imprisonment in Georgia[/caption]
Georgian policemen stand guard in front of the prison of Rustavi, outside Tbilisi[/caption]
Bella May Culley had been missing in Thailand[/caption]
The teenager had been reported missing while on holiday in Thailand, but she was arrested some 4,000 miles away in Georgia.
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 RFE/RL: “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.”
Todua revealed that Culley’s father Neil was flying to Tbilisi.
Her dad lives in Vietnam, has been travelling to the Eastern European nation to be by his daughter’s side.
She was detained after drugs were allegedly found in her suitcase after arriving from Thailand.
It is possible that a separate legal team will be hired.
The British embassy in Tbilisi said: “We are assisting the family of the British woman detained in Georgia and are also in contact with the local authorities.”
Law enforcement is expected to contact the suspect “in a few days” in her detention jail.
A 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/RL 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.
A report by Georgia’s ombudsman into Women’s Penitentiary No. 5 outlines the horrors that could await the Brit teenager.
“When prisoners are received at the No.5 Facility,
they are inspected naked and are requested to squat, which the inmates consider degrading treatment,” the report reads.
“According to inmates, this procedure is especially humiliating and intensive during an inmate’s menstrual cycle.”
Hygiene problems are said to be rampant, with reports of no running drinking water and clogged drains.
Just earlier this year, the journalist Mzia Amaglobeli went on hunger strike inside the women’s prison in protest against Georgia’s government.
In 2006, a Tbilisi prison saw seven inmates killed and 17 seriously injured in one of the country’s worst ever prison riots.
Authorities were accused of using excessive force.
A Human Rights Watch report has found Georgia’s prisons are “severely overcrowded” – which threatens the safety of inmates.
The teenager who vanished while holidaying in Thailand was arrested in eastern Europe on drug charges[/caption]
She was detained at Tbilisi airport in Georgia on suspicion of carrying 14kg of cannabis[/caption]
She was reported missing in Thailand – where she had been travelling – before her arrest.
Her family raised the alarm after she failed to contact anyone since Saturday.
A loved-one said: “She is just a student – she doesn’t really go out or do anything like that. She just wanted a break so took herself to Thailand.
“She must have become mixed up with someone. She must have met someone who has taken advantage of her.”
Georgia’s Interior Ministry says she could face 20 years or even a life sentence.
On Tuesday, Georgian authorities released photos of Bella being led handcuffed into a police station.
Culley’s paternal grandfather said: “I’m terrified that she’s in for a long sentence. I might never see her again – I’m 80 years old.
“She’s got sucked into something, somehow. She’s not an international drug trafficker.
“It’s all just very strange and at the moment we just don’t have any answers. We don’t know what to think.”
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Bella May Culley, 18, was reported missing while she was said to have been on holiday in Thailand[/caption]
Bella May Culley, 18, from Billingham, County Durham, seen in court in Tbilisi after she was detained[/caption]
A BRIT teen held in Georgia accused of smuggling 30lb of marijuana is the great-granddaughter of a Labour MP who was caught up in the parliamentary expenses scandal.
Bella May Culley faces life in prison in a brutal ex-Soviet slammer after she was arrested at Tbilisi airport on suspicion of drug smuggling.
Bella May Culley, 18, faces being caged in an overcrowded ex-Soviet jail after being arrested on drug smuggling charges[/caption]
She was arrested at Tbilisi airport on suspicion of drug smuggling[/caption]
Labour MP Frank Cook, who represented the Stockton North constituency until 2010[/caption]
The 18-year-old appeared in court earlier this week, where she said was pregnant before stating she would reserve the right to remain silent.
But the nursing student from County Durham is the great-granddaughter of ex-Stockton North Labour MP Frank Cook, who passed away in 2012, the MailOnline has reported.
Culley is reported to regularly post pictures with her “special lady” grandmother – who is the late MP’s daughter.
In one post wishing her happy birthday, she says she loves her “unconditionally” before calling her “one of the most important ladies in my life”.
Cook, who represented Stockton North for 27 years, was among the MPs implicated in the 2009 expenses row that rocked Westminster to its core.
It transpired he had claimed for £153,902, which included a £5 donation made by an aide representing him at a memorial service.
However, he would later explain this donation was an IOU from the member of staff who went to the service on his behalf – and that he expensed it by mistake.
“It was a genuine mistake and I stress again: I would never deliberately make a claim of this kind,” he said.
He would later lose a libel case against The Sunday Telegraph following the revelations.
Cook stood as an independent candidate in his constituency at the 2010 general election after being deselected by Labour, but he failed to retain the seat.
He died in 2012 at the age of 76 – a year after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
Culley was arrested after she was allegedly caught trying to sneak 34 bags of marijuana in her luggage through the Georgian capital’s main airport.
She had been reported missing in Thailand – where she had been travelling – before she was arrested 4,000 miles away.
Her family had raised the alarm after she failed to contact anyone since Saturday – despite usually being a prolific texter.
Her dad Neil Culley, who lives in Vietnam, has reportedly flown to the Eastern European nation to be by his daughter’s side.
A loved-one said: “She is just a student – she doesn’t really go out or do anything like that. She just wanted a break so took herself to Thailand.
“She must have become mixed up with someone. She must have met someone who has taken advantage of her.”
Authorities in Georgia claim she tried to stash 34 bags of cannabis in her luggage which was detected at the airport.
A report by Georgia’s ombudsman into Women’s Penitentiary No. 5 outlines the horrors that could await the Brit teenager.
“When prisoners are received at the No.5 Facility,
they are inspected naked and are requested to squat, which the inmates consider degrading treatment,” the report reads.
“According to inmates, this procedure is especially humiliating and intensive during an inmate’s menstrual cycle.”
Hygiene problems are said to be rampant, with reports of no running drinking water and clogged drains.
Just earlier this year, the journalist Mzia Amaglobeli went on hunger strike inside the women’s prison in protest against Georgia’s government.
In 2006, a Tbilisi prison saw seven inmates killed and 17 seriously injured in one of the country’s worst ever prison riots.
Authorities were accused of using excessive force.
A Human Rights Watch report has found Georgia’s prisons are “severely overcrowded” – which threatens the safety of inmates.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry says she could face 20 years or even a life sentence in an overcrowded Women’s Penitentiary No. 5 in Rustavi
The country has been blasted for its treatment of its prisoners by rights groups.
Culley’s paternal grandfather said: “I’m terrified that she’s in for a long sentence. I might never see her again – I’m 80 years old.
“She’s got sucked into something, somehow. She’s not an international drug trafficker.
“It’s all just very strange and at the moment we just don’t have any answers. We don’t know what to think.”
Bella’s lawyer said after her court appearance: “My client is currently exercising the right to remain silent, so we will provide detailed information later, once they decide how to proceed.”
Bella appears in court in Georgia earlier this week[/caption]
Labour MP Frank Cook[/caption]
A BRIT teen held in Georgia accused of smuggling 30lb of marijuana is the great-granddaughter of a Labour MP who was caught up in the parliamentary expenses scandal.
Bella May Culley faces life in prison in a brutal ex-Soviet slammer after she was arrested at Tbilisi airport on suspicion of drug smuggling.
Bella May Culley, 18, faces being caged in an overcrowded ex-Soviet jail after being arrested on drug smuggling charges[/caption]
She was arrested at Tbilisi airport on suspicion of drug smuggling[/caption]
Labour MP Frank Cook, who represented the Stockton North constituency until 2010[/caption]
The 18-year-old appeared in court earlier this week, where she said was pregnant before stating she would reserve the right to remain silent.
But the nursing student from County Durham is the great-granddaughter of ex-Stockton North Labour MP Frank Cook, who passed away in 2012, the MailOnline has reported.
Culley is reported to regularly post pictures with her “special lady” grandmother – who is the late MP’s daughter.
In one post wishing her happy birthday, she says she loves her “unconditionally” before calling her “one of the most important ladies in my life”.
Cook, who represented Stockton North for 27 years, was among the MPs implicated in the 2009 expenses row that rocked Westminster to its core.
It transpired he had claimed for £153,902, which included a £5 donation made by an aide representing him at a memorial service.
However, he would later explain this donation was an IOU from the member of staff who went to the service on his behalf – and that he expensed it by mistake.
“It was a genuine mistake and I stress again: I would never deliberately make a claim of this kind,” he said.
He would later lose a libel case against The Sunday Telegraph following the revelations.
Cook stood as an independent candidate in his constituency at the 2010 general election after being deselected by Labour, but he failed to retain the seat.
He died in 2012 at the age of 76 – a year after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
Culley was arrested after she was allegedly caught trying to sneak 34 bags of marijuana in her luggage through the Georgian capital’s main airport.
She had been reported missing in Thailand – where she had been travelling – before she was arrested 4,000 miles away.
Her family had raised the alarm after she failed to contact anyone since Saturday – despite usually being a prolific texter.
Her dad Neil Culley, who lives in Vietnam, has reportedly flown to the Eastern European nation to be by his daughter’s side.
A loved-one said: “She is just a student – she doesn’t really go out or do anything like that. She just wanted a break so took herself to Thailand.
“She must have become mixed up with someone. She must have met someone who has taken advantage of her.”
Authorities in Georgia claim she tried to stash 34 bags of cannabis in her luggage which was detected at the airport.
A report by Georgia’s ombudsman into Women’s Penitentiary No. 5 outlines the horrors that could await the Brit teenager.
“When prisoners are received at the No.5 Facility,
they are inspected naked and are requested to squat, which the inmates consider degrading treatment,” the report reads.
“According to inmates, this procedure is especially humiliating and intensive during an inmate’s menstrual cycle.”
Hygiene problems are said to be rampant, with reports of no running drinking water and clogged drains.
Just earlier this year, the journalist Mzia Amaglobeli went on hunger strike inside the women’s prison in protest against Georgia’s government.
In 2006, a Tbilisi prison saw seven inmates killed and 17 seriously injured in one of the country’s worst ever prison riots.
Authorities were accused of using excessive force.
A Human Rights Watch report has found Georgia’s prisons are “severely overcrowded” – which threatens the safety of inmates.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry says she could face 20 years or even a life sentence in an overcrowded Women’s Penitentiary No. 5 in Rustavi
The country has been blasted for its treatment of its prisoners by rights groups.
Culley’s paternal grandfather said: “I’m terrified that she’s in for a long sentence. I might never see her again – I’m 80 years old.
“She’s got sucked into something, somehow. She’s not an international drug trafficker.
“It’s all just very strange and at the moment we just don’t have any answers. We don’t know what to think.”
Bella’s lawyer said after her court appearance: “My client is currently exercising the right to remain silent, so we will provide detailed information later, once they decide how to proceed.”
Bella appears in court in Georgia earlier this week[/caption]
Labour MP Frank Cook[/caption]
THE BRIT teen arrested for smuggling 30lb of marijuana into Georgia boasted on TikTok about her “criminal” lifestyle before getting caught.
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THE Brit teen arrested for smuggling 30lb of marijuana into Georgia has told the court she is pregnant.
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A BRIT dad-of-four has been jailed for a staggering 10 years in Saudi Arabia after he was arrested for posting a tweet.
Ahmed al-Doush, a Bank of America analyst from Manchester, was on holiday with his pregnant wife and three kids when he was snatched at an airport in Riyadh.
The Brit dad-of-four faces ten years in jail in Saudi Arabia[/caption]
He was detained at the King Khalid airport in Riyadh last year[/caption]
The dad-of-four was snatched by cops at the airport while on holiday in Saudi Arabia[/caption]
Ahmed was detained at the King Khalid airport in Riyadh as he was preparing to fly home on August 31 last year.
After this, he was held in a maximum security prison under Saudi Arabia’s strict anti-terrorism laws.
He was held on charges that included criticising the government on social media and associating with a London-based Saudi dissident.
The 41-year-old, who has a chronic thyroid condition and back injury, was then placed in solitary confinement for 33 days after his arrest and denied consular assistance.
He was also reportedly denied access to legal representation for more than two months.
His decade-long jail sentence comes after a state-appointed lawyer told his wife Amaher Nour that her husband had been convicted of an offence, but could not tell her what it was, The Times has reported.
Nour was pregnant with their fourth child at the time of her husband’s arrest.
She told The Times: “The authorities asked for his documents and we thought it was just a problem with his visa.
“He called me from security and told me to fly with the children on to Turkey, our transit stop, and said, ‘I’ll be with you shortly’.”
Ahmed is believed to have been detained in relation to a tweet from 2018 about the war in Sudan – the country he is originally from – which has since been deleted.
He had not posted about Saudi Arabia on his account and had just 37 followers at the time.
“The night times are the hardest for me when I’m alone and it’s quiet,” Nour told The Times.
The case has reportedly been discussed by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy with his Saudi counterpart, although details have not been revealed.
Al-Doush was reportedly blocked from having contact with his family until November 2024 – the same month he first appeared in a Saudi court.
It is understood that Foreign Office officials were allowed into the court for his hearing, according to The Guardian.
Al Doush’s lawyer told the paper: “Under international law, a detained person has the right to be promptly informed of both the reasons for arrest and continued detention and of the charges.
“This obligation not only means that the state must inform the detained person of the law and provision under which they are charged, but also the facts and evidence that form the charge.
“Over three months since Al-Doush was charged, and with indications of his trial nearing conclusion and a judgment imminent, it is still not clear whether the tweet allegedly supports the charge against him.
“This reality is not only in direct contradiction of the most basic principles of due process, but is exacerbated by information of numerous other fair trial and due process violations in his case.”
THE most infamous case of Saudi Arabia’s draconian laws is that of Raif Badawi – a blogger who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for “insulting Islam”.
The Arab Kingdom still enforces the death penalty – in 2022, 196 people were executed. And on March 12 that year, 81 people were executed in one single day.
Women and girls still face discrimination in regard to the law. The male guardianship act was enshrined into law in 2022, and means that women must have a “male legal guardian”.
The Arab Kingdom consistently cracks down on the press, controlling domestic media and jailing journalists for a variety of “crimes”. Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 by agents of the Saudi government.
LGBT rights are not legally recognised in the country. They are labelled as “extremist ideas”, with public displays of affection between couples outlawed.
Protests and demonstrations are also illegal. Those who defy this ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment.
The Guardian further reported that Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer has raised the case with Saudi officials multiple times.
Nour said she had been refused a meeting with the foreign secretary, David Lammy.
However, Nour claims she has been refused a meeting with the Foreign Secretary himself.
Al Doush had reportedly only had three consular visits since he was detained, the paper reports.
A FCDO spokesman said: “We are supporting a British man who is detained in Saudia Arabia and are in contact with his family and the local authorities.”
The Saudi embassy in the UK did not immediately respond to The Sun’s request for comment.
The 41-year-old, who has a chronic thyroid condition and back injury, was then placed in solitary confinement[/caption]
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a EU-Ukraine Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Lviv[/caption]
The case is over:
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