The distraught family of British teenager Bella Culley may have to raise an eye-watering £100,000 if they are to secure the freedom of the pregnant drugs mule suspect, who otherwise could face up 15 years behind bars.
The desperate mother of the 19-year-old, Lyanne Kennedy, was seen wiping tears from her eyes after a court hearing on Tuesday, crying out to her daughter: ‘Bella, I will see you in the morning.’
The family has found themselves in a never-ending nightmare after Bella was caught landing in Georgia from Thailand with £200,000 worth of cannabis in her luggage in May.
But the teenager strenuously denies she is a drugs mule, claiming she was the victim of a terrifying British gang in Thailand who burnt her with an iron, showed her beheading videos and threatened to kill her family if she did not do as they said.
Lyanne, 44, has rarely left Bella’s side throughout the proceedings and was photographed with tearful eyes after spending over two hours with her 19-year-old in Women’s Penitentiary Number Five yesterday.
The family are willing to do anything possible to buy the freedom of the teenager – though lawyers who specialise in freeing foreigners locked up in Georgia say the fine could total £100,000.
Now, her mother finds herself in an agonising position, as she must either find the money or face the devastating prospect of seeing her first grandchild born in a foreign jail cell.
‘I don’t know what to do,’ the heartbroken mother said.
Bella Culley (pictured) was caught in Georgia with £200,000 worth of cannabis in her luggage which the pregnant 19-year-old claims she was forced to smuggle by a Thai gang
The teen has maintained that she is innocent and instead says she was violently coerced into trafficking the narcotics
Bella Culley’s distraught mother Lyanne Kennedy was yesterday seen leaving a Georgian prison alongside Bella’s grandfather William Culley
‘It’s a lot of money for us. They offered us a layered approach: this and this much to let her go immediately, and then another [lower] offer where she serves some amount.’
Like it would be for most families, finding that amount of money on demand is no easy feat. Lyanne does not own a home in the UK while Bella’s father Niel Culley, 49, lives in Vietnam meaning they are likely unable to remortgage or sell a property to raise the required funds.
Now, Bella and her loved-ones must wait until October 9 for the next hearing after the judge dramatically adjourned her trial at the last minute on Tuesday.
Auntie Kerrie Culley, 51, and Bella’s grandfather William Culley, 82, showed up in court to show support for the teenager who they desperately want to see free.
‘I hope you can understand the story from my eyes. I never thought something like this would happen to me,’ Bella told the court at a previous hearing in July.
Despite citing her pregnancy as a factor for consideration, her lawyer’s request for bail has been denied, and the prosecution has said it will only allow her to walk free if she pays a significant fine.
According to Professor Anna Putkaradze, a Georgian lawyer specialising in high-profile cases involving foreigners facing problems with the Georgian judiciary, the sum for freedom is usually half the street value of the illicit items they are caught with.
If authorities believe the UK was the final destination that means it would be half the £200,000 British street value.
Bella seen in court in Tbilisi after she was detained at the city’s airport in May
Culley’s mother Lyanne Kennedy finds herself in an agonising position, as she must either find the money or face the devastating prospect of seeing her first grandchild born in a foreign jail cell
Prior to her arrest in the Georgian capital, Culley sparked a massive international search operation after she was reported missing while she was believed to be holidaying in Thailand
Professor Putkaradze said: ‘If the prosecution is calculating the fine based on the estimated street value of the heavy drugs in Britain, rather than in Georgia, I would estimate it at around £100,000.
‘The law does not literally say ‘exactly half’, but according to the Customs Code and the practice of the Revenue Service, when contraband goods (such as gold) are discovered, the fine is usually set at roughly 50 per cent of the customs value of the goods, as a kind of compromise measure.’
Prior to her arrest in the Georgian capital, Bella sparked a massive international search operation after she was reported missing while she was believed to be holidaying in Thailand.
She was charged with purchasing 446g of tetraphenol cannabinol and 11.2kg of cannabis abroad.
But the teen has maintained that she is innocent and instead says she was violently coerced into trafficking the narcotics.
Breaking down in tears throughout a 30-minute hearing at Tbilisi City Court in the Georgian capital in July, she told a judge: ‘I didn’t want to do this, I was forced under torture.
‘I just wanted to travel, I just want to live with my family, I am a loving person, I am studying at the university to become a nurse.
‘All I wanted to do is travel, but bad things happened. I don’t do drugs, as you can see in my blood tests I am clean. I always wanted to make my family proud. Thank you.’
The British 19-year-old claimed she was violently coerced into trafficking the narcotics
She was charged with purchasing 446g of tetraphenol cannabinol and 11.2kg of cannabis abroad
The teen was stopped at Tbilisi airport in a suspected sting operation and was found with drugs with a six-figure street value. Pictured: CCTV footage shows the Brit going through the automated gates at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand
Professor Putkaradze said: ‘Since the defendant is a British citizen and the family’s economic income is in pounds sterling, it would be logical for the fine to be calculated based on their sterling income.
‘If we analyse precedent and look at comparable cases, the fine is generally assessed according to the potential monetary gain the offender would have received from trafficking the drugs in question – and here once again, final destination plays a crucial part.
‘Was it Georgia or Britain? Regardless, given that this is an especially grave category of crime, carrying a sentence of either very lengthy or even life imprisonment, setting the fine at approximately half the estimated value could be considered an adequate punishment.’
She told the Mail said there will be ‘many nuances in play’ to decide the fine including the severity of the offence which carries a minimum sentence of around 15 years up to life.
She said: ‘Even when mitigating circumstances exist — such as cooperation with investigators, pregnancy, no prior convictions, being a first-time offender, and no resulting harm — the very nature of the offence imposes a binding constraint on the state, leaving little room for maneuver.’
Professor Putkaradze said it means they are unlikely to go down to a fifth of the total amount – £40,000 – which is the lowest they generally agree to.
Bella’s lawyer Malkhaz Salakaia told journalists yesterday that if her family ‘is ready to pay the sum that the state is demanding she can go straight to the airport’.
The family have not revealed the amount the court is asking for.
Bella’s family members walking into court in Tbilisi on Tuesday. The Teesside teenager’s trial was due to start today but was adjourned at the last minute
Bella’s aunt Kerry and grandfather seen outside Tbilisi City Court on Tuesday
Bella Culley’s mother pictured on July 25 outside Tbilisi City Court
The teenager claims she flew to Tbilisi with 14kg of illegal cargo hidden in her bags after being violently threatened by a gang in Thailand.
On Tuesday she entered court wearing a black t-shirt with her hair in a bun and appeared calm, occasionally shooting her mother a warm smile.
Mr Salakaia told the court: ‘Negotiations over a plea bargain are ongoing, and not without success.
‘We’ve heard counter-proposals from the prosecution. We need more time regarding a plea bargain for the family to better prepare for all technicalities.’
Asked if he would have his position ready regarding a plea bargain by September 24, Mr Salakaia said they would need more time.
Before the request was denied, Mr Salakaia asked for bail on a 50,000 lari (£13,750) bond, citing the fact that Bella was expecting a baby boy. ‘She will be here [in Tbilisi], her family will take care of her, and she is ready to cooperate,’ he said.
The alleged drug-filled suitcase of Culley
Bella’s father Niel Culley and his sister Kerrie Culley (Bella’s aunt) in Tbilisi following her arrest
Bella Culley’s lawyer Malkhaz Salakaia outside court
Pictured: A bikini-clad Bella with a cannabis joint in her mouth
Culley is languishing in the notorious Women’s Penitentiary Number Five
Judge Gelashvili said: ‘Of course we are worried about Miss Bella’s health and that of her child’s, and obviously her child should develop in a free environment.
‘Taking into consideration the ongoing success in negotiations and that the family need more time to consider the prosecutions offer, we can pledge that we can move the date of the next trial the very moment you reach an agreement.’
The Foreign Office has previously said it is ‘supporting the family of a British woman who is detained in Georgia’.
The case was adjourned until the next hearing on October 9.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .