Overview

• At a July 1 pre-trial hearing, 18-year-old Bella Culley pleaded not guilty and showed a ‘snake-like’ scar she says was inflicted by a hot iron in Thailand.
• Prosecutors argued she posed a flight risk and could destroy evidence, leading Judge Lela Kalichenko to deny bail despite a 50,000-lari offer.
• Culley remains detained at Women’s Penitentiary No. 5, whose overcrowding and limited medical care raise concerns for her 18-week pregnancy.
• Under Georgian law, trafficking 11 kilograms of marijuana and 400 grams of hashish carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years or life imprisonment.
• Her lawyer says she was coerced by a criminal network targeting Western travellers, and she is due back in court on July 10 for the next hearing.