Armed police who mistakenly raided the house of a woman who was sleeping topless in her bed and then bound her hands with tie clips, did not identify themselves to her, Charlotte Casha told a court on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old only figured out that the four armed and hooded men were police when she was handcuffed in the kitchen and saw the letters ‘SIU’ (Special Intervention Unit) on the back of one of the men.

Casha is suing the state and the police commissioner over the arbitrary arrest and degrading treatment she experienced on August 12 in her penthouse in Marsa.

The incident happened in Triq l-Isqof Francis Baldacchino, when four officers from the SIU made their way up to a penthouse in the block while assisting the Vice Squad and the Crime Investigation Department in a series of raids taking place in various areas in connection with a human trafficking investigation.

Testifying in court, presided over by Mr Justice Ian Spiteri Bailey, Casha explained how at 6 am she was interrupted from her sleep when two men dressed like “soldiers” broke into her penthouse.

“They were shouting at me to get up against the wall with my hands up,” Casha told a court.

She said the men secured her hands with tie clips and put her in a chair in the kitchen. She said at no point did the men identify themselves to her, she only figured out they were police officers when she saw the letters ‘SIU’ on the back of one of the men.

While sitting in the kitchen, she said she glanced outside to see drones hovering at her window.

Casha previously spoke to Times of Malta about the incident, and had said while she did not know how much time had passed while she was handcuffed, it felt like "hours" and she decided to not speak to them out of fear as they had rifles.

Shortly after, two plain clothes policemen walked in, and one of them asked her for her ID card, which she pointed towards with her head, given her hands were still tied.

“He took my ID card, went outside... then came back inside to say that I am not going to be placed under arrest,” she said.

Her lawyer Jacob Magri asked her whether the officers ever offered her something to eat, drink or even clothes to cover her up, to which she replied:

 “Nothing. Nothing.”

Once the police were leaving, she asked them what was going on, but one of the police officers said that he could not give her any more details as she is not under arrest.

They took down her details and asked her to go to the police depot to answer some questions, but she never went as she was never summoned.

“Once they left, I had a panic attack,” Casha said.

Doesn’t feel safe to sleep in her bed

Casha said she has not been able to sleep in her bedroom since that day, and now she only sleeps on the sofa.

Months after the incident, she said she has been receiving constant psychiatric help, and receiving help from victim support.

She said the experience was so traumatic that she was forced to quit her 8-year job as a support worker for immigrants in Safi, as she was unfit to work. Following the incident, she said she was forced to change career.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Jacob Magri and David Chetcuti Dimech represented Casha.