A woman who was harassed in a night club in Paceville ended up being manhandled by the police, the Court was told today.

A soft-spoken and visibly shaken Semira Tabone Grech, alongside her partner and co-accused Mohammed Zawia Abdussalam Bheeh, is facing criminal changes.

She recounted her ordeal today, occasionally stopping to regain composure as tears flowed down her cheeks. The young lady explained that she had been enjoying a drink with her fiancé inside the club when a man had sidled up to the bar and started to harass her. When the man persisted, Mr Bheeh asked the security personnel to intervene.

However, rather than do that, the security personnel had allegedly manhandled the couple and forcibly removed them from the club. Ms Tabone Grech was allegedly seized by the neck and thrown down the stairs outside the club. Mr Bheeh was likewise hit on the shoulders and kicked in the ankle by the club security.

Matters allegedly got worse once they were outside in the street, when two male and two female police officers patrolling the area and noticed the commotion.
Ms Tabone Grech said that she had been manhandled, handcuffed and escorted in a police car first to the Floriana health centre, where she was treated for her injuries and later to the Depot, where she was held overnight until her arraignment the following day.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona, was shown several photos taken by Ms Tabone Grech's mother, Sara Grech, who had accompanied the young couple home after the court arraignment and who had been shocked by their injuries.

In the final submissions, prosecuting officer Inspector Elton Taliana pointed out that the police patrolling the streets of Paceville work under great pressure: "This was not Gudja square but Paceville at 00.30am."

The police had to maintain order and when situations escalated they had to intervene, the inspector told the court. Working under such conditions, the officers could not be held responsible for any possible miscommunications, Inspector Taliana concluded.

The defence counsel, however, observed that there had been various shortcomings on the part of the police, adding that no action had been taken against the harasser.

It also asked why none of the security personnel had been called to testify and why no CCTV footage had been presented to support the charges. The counsel also asked why four police officers had to physically restrain and handcuff his client, considering the woman's slight stature and soft manners.

The case was put off for judgment.

Inspector Elton Taliana prosecuted. Lawyers Vince Micallef and Stephanie Abela were defence counsel.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.