The British teenager accused of trying to traffic drugs after going missing 4,000 miles from where she had gone on holiday is "terrified and confused" and is claiming to be , her lawyers have confirmed.
Bella May Culley, 18, has been detained in Georgia after she was allegedly caught with 34 bags of - weighing up to 14 kilograms in total - this week, with officials reportedly expecting she could serve between 20 years to life behind bars. She turned up in the former Soviet nation after her family reported her missing in earlier this month, to where she had travelled in a reportedly spur of the moment decision from the .
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Her Georgian lawyer Ia Todua, who has been appointed by the state, said in a statement that her client is "confused" and "kind of lost", and has claimed she is pregnant.
She said: "This was her first time in the court and she was terrified and confused, kind of lost. Because of that we decided to exercise the right to remain silent. In a few days, after we’ve had consultations and discussions, we’ll decide whether and how to adjust this position. New lawyers, private ones, both Georgian and British, will soon be involved and more details will be told."
“She told the court and later me as well that she is pregnant". It is understood her dad, who her mum Lyanne Kennedy said lives in Vietnam, is flying to Georgia today. There will be a medical examination to check her condition, including apparent .
Georgian TV outlet had reported that Ms Culley told a court in Tblisi she was "pregnant" and that she "chose to exercise her right to remain silent regarding the charges". Other local outlets have claimed she has been charged with illegally purchasing and storing a large amount of narcotics, illegally purchasing and storing the narcotic drug marijuana, and illegally importing it into Georgia.
Her lawyer Ms Todua said: “The person under my protection is currently exercising the right to silence and, accordingly, I will provide all the detailed information later, when she decides to provide detailed information to the investigative bodies regarding the charges brought against her.”
According to her tickets, Ms Culley had planned to stay in Georgia and didn’t have a ticket to depart, with her mum saying she had shown her dad an itinerary that would have had her return to the UK by Saturday, May 10.
The 44-year-old told The Sun after raising the alarm over her disappearance: “Bella showed her dad an itinerary that said she should arrive back in on Saturday - but there’s no sign of her."
A pre-court hearing has been scheduled for July 1.
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