Pregnant British teen may get two years in Georgia prison in drug smuggling plea deal

The family of a pregnant British teenager who was arrested in Georgia on drug smuggling charges earlier this year have paid more than €157,000 in a plea deal that could lead to a two-year jail sentence, her lawyer said on Tuesday.

Bella May Culley, 19, was arrested in May at Tbilisi Airport and accused of attempting to smuggle 12 kilogrammes of marijuana and 2 kilogrammes of hashish into the country.

If convicted, she faces up to 15 years or life imprisonment, but a plea bargain intended to reduce her sentence is currently being finalised, said her lawyer Malkhaz Salakhaia.

Salakhaia said a sentence of two years in prison for the teenager is being discussed as part of a plea deal, but that the final verdict will be announced on Monday.

He did not rule out that Culley could be pardoned by the president if she is convicted.

"Reaching an agreement with the prosecutor's office is in its final stage. Only the technical issues remain to be finalised, for which we need several more days," he said.

Culley's mother, Lyanne Kennedy, told reporters on Tuesday that the family has paid 500,000 lari (approximately €158,000) as part of the plea bargain.

In Georgia, a nation of 3.7 million people in the South Caucasus, the law allows for financial plea agreements that can be reached to reduce or eliminate a prison sentence in certain cases.

Those plea agreements are often reached in drug-related cases.

Culley, who is from Teesside in northeast England, was reported missing in Thailand prior to her arrest at Tbilisi airport on 10 May.

The teenager pleaded not guilty to the charges after her arrest, saying she was tortured in Thailand and forced to carry the drugs.

Her lawyer has told reporters that she showed visible physical signs of torture upon her arrival in Georgia.

It is not clear whether she changed her plea as part of the plea bargain.