Lawyer issues update on student missing in Thailand before being found and arrested more than 4,000 miles away
Bella Culley is now being held in a jail in Georgia with lawyer Mariam Kublashvili hoping to do what she can to help her
A lawyer for 18-year-old Bella May Culley has shared an update on the teen's situation after she went missing while travelling in Thailand and turned up 4,000 miles away in Georgia.
Bella's family, from Billingham, UK, had reported Bella missing on May 13, but were left stunned when they learned she had been arrested in Georgia after allegedly being caught with 12kg (26lbs) of marijuana and 2kg (4.4lbs) of hashish.
The teen has been hit with charges of illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of narcotics, and she is now being held in a Georgia jail cell as she faces a sentence from 15 years to life if found guilty.
On Monday (May 19), Bella was granted permission to speak to Mariam Kublashvili, a Georgian lawyer who is offering her services to Bella for free, and who has also had a stint on a dancing competition TV show in the country.
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Kublashvili later spoke to The Sun about her conversation with Bella, revealing that the teen is 'sad but calm'.
The lawyer said: "My initial impression was very positive - she is very open, very pleasant, and charming. She doesn't fit the profile of a drug trafficker at all."
Kublashvili expressed her belief that Bella had been 'used and manipulated', saying: "For anyone, like me, with experience in dealing with such cases, it would be quite obvious that she is a victim here."
"I have a 20-year-old child myself and can only imagine what her parents must be feeling," Kublashvili added.
The lawyer's visit to the jail came after Bella revealed at a court hearing that she is pregnant, prompting Kublashvili to insist that she needs 'medical care' which she reportedly 'wasn't getting'.
Kublashvili claimed Bella had asked for a jumper and warmer clothes to help keep her from getting cold in the jail, and said she 'doesn't like what she is fed in the prison at all'. However, she said Bella is getting on with her cellmates, who are two other women.
The lawyer continued: "She asked me for tuna fish, which I thought was odd and might have been something to do with pregnancy cravings - but I found out later fish cannot be sent in.
"She told me no tests, checks or medical examinations have been done. She said she asked for a doctor, but the doctor wasn't speaking English and they couldn't understand each other."
Bella's father has travelled to Georgia to support his daughter and told The Sun that he will stay 'as long as it takes' to help get her out of jail.
Kublashvili said the teen now 'expects her dad to visit' and 'would very much like to go home'.
Emily Brown