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Pregnant Briton Bella Culley Freed in Georgia After Plea Deal, Heads Home

A court set her punishment to time served following a negotiated plea that included a 500,000 lari payment.

Overview

  • A Tbilisi court on 3 November found Culley guilty under a plea agreement and imposed five months and 25 days, matching her time in custody and triggering her release.
  • Prosecutors said the decision reflected her confession, age, pregnancy, cooperation and time already served after an earlier deal had contemplated a two‑year sentence.
  • Her lawyer said her passport would be returned and she could leave Georgia, and local reports on Tuesday showed her at the airport before a UK‑bound flight.
  • Culley, 19, was arrested in May at Tbilisi International Airport after authorities said her luggage held about 12 kg of marijuana and 2 kg of hashish.
  • Her family says they paid 500,000 lari under Georgia’s plea system, and after months in harsh prison conditions she was briefly moved to a mother‑and‑baby unit; her coercion allegations remain reported but unresolved.