Brit teen 'threatened with beheading' by gang to force her to smuggle £200k worth of cannabis
A British teenager accused of smuggling £200k worth of cannabis into Georgia has claimed that she was tortured and 'threatened with beheading' by gang members.
On 10 May, it was revealed that Bella May Culley, from Billingham, County Durham, had been arrested upon arrival in Georgia and charged with drug smuggling.
Georgian authorities claimed that she'd flown into the former Soviet republic carrying 12kg of marijuana and 2kg of hashish in her suitcases, after flying in from Thailand.
According to the 18-year-old's family, she had been 'uncontactable' for four days before being arrested in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. If convicted of drug smuggling, Culley faces 20 years to life in the notorious prison number 5 in Rustavi, where she is currently being held.
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Culley - who previously revealed that she is currently pregnant - is currently in court, with lawyer Malkhaz Salakaia arguing that the teenager was forced into carrying the drugs into Georgia.
Speaking to MailOnline after a recent hearing, Salakaia claimed that Culley had been targeted by a gang and threatened with beheading.
"They told her: we know the addresses of your parents, we know where your 16-year-old brother is," Salakaia said. "They made her watch a video of a man being decapitated and told her: if you don't do as told, this is what is going to happen to you and your family.
"She felt queasy and almost fainted but they still forced her to watch it."
Salakaia also touched on Culley's previous claims that the group had branded her with a 'hot iron' as well as denying allegations that one of the gang members was the father of her child.
"The speculation that one of them is the father of Bella’s child does not correspond to the truth," he added.
"I categorically deny this; there is no connection. I cannot say whether the father of the child knows about Bella’s situation."
The lawyer also suggested the teenager had attempted to alert customs authorities in Thailand to her situation as well as sending a desperate 'Help me' text to her family, however, it did not reach them in time.
Culley previously broke down in tears while addressing her situation in court, saying: "I didn't want to do this - I was forced under torture.
"I just wanted to travel, I just want to live with my family - I am a loving person, I am studying at the university to become a nurse.
"All I wanted to do was travel but bad things happened.”
Brenna Cooper