Pregnant British 'drug mule' Bella Culley is due back in court today in Georgia as she battles a possible life sentence.
The teenager, from Billingham on Teesside, was arrested in the country and charged with importing large quantities of narcotics. She vanished in Thailand before she travelled ito the intersection of Europe and Asia and was arrested at Tbilisi International Airport in May.
She has been accused of taking cannabis and hashish into the country. The mum-to-be, expecting a baby boy within the next few months, pleaded not guilty to charges of possession and trafficking a large amount of illegal drugs. Her trial started in July, but was postponed immediately after it began with issues relating to evidence that had yet to be resolved.
She was pictured on national television in handcuffs after flying into Georgia from Thailand on May 11. She is being held in Tblisi's only female prison, the infamous Women's Prison No 5, in boiling cell since her arrest four months ago. Her family continue to support the 19-year-old as she fights for her freedom.
She claimed she attempted to seek help from Thai customs staff and that the drugs had been put into a bag and stored in the hold of a plane on her behalf. Thai authorities have slammed Culley's claims and they said CCTV images from the airport showed her passing calmly through airport checks without flagging down anyone for help or showing any unusual behaviour.
Georgia Police said large quantities of marijuana and hashish were found a travel bag at Tbilisi International Airport.
Police worked to establish where the 12kg (26lbs) of marijuana and 2kg (4.4lbs) of hashish had come from - and if the woman was "planning to hand it over to someone".
Miss Culley was charged with illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of narcotics. She previously denied charges of possession and smuggling.
A spokesperson said that if found guilty, she could face 20 years in jail. They added life imprisonment was also possible.
At a hearing in July, the pregnant teenager pleaded with the judge for compassion.
She said: "I hope you understand my story through my eyes. I never thought something like this would happen to me."
Her defence lawyer Mr Malkhaz Salakia said: "Bella will become a mother soon, she is expecting a boy. I want her to feel this motherhood in freedom. It's a moment of her becoming a mother for the first time in her life, she turned 19 this June.
"Since the crime committed is not connected to Georgia, and her family has been here - father before and now the mother is here - they are here to look after her, and there is no possibility of influencing the witnesses because they are police and officials."
Bella previously claimed that she was "forced to" smuggle the drugs into Georgia "through torture."
She added: "I just want to travel. I am a good person. I am a student at university. I am a clean person. I don't do drugs."
Mr Salakaia said his client was tortured with a hot iron being placed on her right arm by a criminal group that gave her the drugs. She approached a policeman to seek help but he turned out to be affiliated with the gang, the lawyer told the court.
Her lawyer has argued that Bella should not be considered as a grown up.
Asked whether he would describe the teen as an adequate adult, he answered "no".
His told the court that his impression was that she was "not far from childhood".
A woman who knows all too well what it means to become a mother behind bars issued the mum-to-be a warning.
Molly Ellis, now 32, was 26 years old and pregnant with her second child when she was convicted of conspiracy to defraud with a custodial sentence to serve seven years behind bars.
She told The Mirror: "It was mentally destroying. I was bonding with my daughter everyday, knowing she was going to be taken from me at some point. You get close to your baby, you hold them daily, and then you're reminded that this is temporary."