Rayhan Demytrie,Caucasus correspondent in Georgia and
Pamela Tickell,North East and Cumbria
ReutersPregnant teenager Bella Culley, who had been facing drug trafficking charges in Georgia, has said she felt “happy and relieved” as she was freed from prison.
The 19-year-old from Billingham, Teesside, had initially faced a possible 20 years in jail, but prosecutors made a last-minute change to the terms of a plea bargain.
As she learned of the news in court in Tbilisi, Miss Culley gave her lawyer Malkhaz Salakaia a big hug.
The teenager was detained on 10 May having being arrested at Tbilisi International Airport when 12kg (26lb) of marijuana and 2kg (4.4lb) of hashish were found in her luggage.
Mr Salakaia said prosecutors made the change to the terms of her plea bargain and, given her age and pregnancy, decided to free her.
He said Miss Culley would be given her passport and would be free to leave the country on Monday.
Holding her mother Lyanne Kennedy’s hand outside court, Miss Culley told reporters she did not expect to be freed today.
Georgian prosecutors were considering a two-year sentence, but “decided to consider the time she has already served”, prosecutor Vakhtang Tsalughelashvili said.
Lawyers representing the teenager have been locked in negotiations with judicial authorities in Georgia, with details expected to be released later.
Her family previously paid £137,000 to reduce her sentence to two years.
