British Teenager Behind Bars for Drug Smuggling: Mother Moved to Easier Prison Conditions
A 19-year-old British girl, pregnant and accused of smuggling 12kg of marijuana into Georgia, has been transferred to a prison with improved conditions - including a proper toilet and more fresh air. The teenager's mother revealed that her daughter had previously endured harsh treatment at Rustavi Prison No 5, where inmates were forced to share showers twice a week and use a hole in the ground as a toilet.
However, after being moved to a new facility, Culley now enjoys two hours of daily exercise, access to a communal kitchen, and even gets to cook meals with her fellow inmates. "She now gets two hours out for walking, she can use the communal kitchen, has a shower in her room and a proper toilet," said Kennedy, describing the improved conditions.
The teenager's case has drawn international attention, with reports suggesting that she was subjected to torture by gangsters in Thailand before being forced to bring the drugs into Georgia. Culley's family is now seeking to have her sentence reduced as part of a plea deal, and her lawyers are negotiating with authorities in the hope of securing a pardon.
The full extent of Culley's ordeal remains unclear, but it has sparked widespread concern about human rights abuses within the Georgian prison system. With her lawyer planning to appeal to the president for a pardon, the fate of the young mother-to-be hangs in the balance - and her family is doing everything it can to secure her release back home where she belongs.
A 19-year-old British girl, pregnant and accused of smuggling 12kg of marijuana into Georgia, has been transferred to a prison with improved conditions - including a proper toilet and more fresh air. The teenager's mother revealed that her daughter had previously endured harsh treatment at Rustavi Prison No 5, where inmates were forced to share showers twice a week and use a hole in the ground as a toilet.
However, after being moved to a new facility, Culley now enjoys two hours of daily exercise, access to a communal kitchen, and even gets to cook meals with her fellow inmates. "She now gets two hours out for walking, she can use the communal kitchen, has a shower in her room and a proper toilet," said Kennedy, describing the improved conditions.
The teenager's case has drawn international attention, with reports suggesting that she was subjected to torture by gangsters in Thailand before being forced to bring the drugs into Georgia. Culley's family is now seeking to have her sentence reduced as part of a plea deal, and her lawyers are negotiating with authorities in the hope of securing a pardon.
The full extent of Culley's ordeal remains unclear, but it has sparked widespread concern about human rights abuses within the Georgian prison system. With her lawyer planning to appeal to the president for a pardon, the fate of the young mother-to-be hangs in the balance - and her family is doing everything it can to secure her release back home where she belongs.