What are my rights if Maltese police ask for a DNA or fingerprint sample?

The taking of samples, fingerprinting, and related investigative procedures by police in Malta is specifically regulated under the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code, Chapter 9 of the Laws of Malta, which set out the circumstances in which such samples can be taken, including distinctions between samples that can be taken with consent and those that may be taken under specific legal authority even without consent in certain defined circumstances, along with rules on how such material must be retained, used, and in some cases eventually destroyed, particularly where a person is not ultimately charged or is acquitted. Given that the rules around retention and destruction of biometric data taken in these circumstances can be quite specific and technical, and given that this touches on both criminal procedure and data protection principles under GDPR, it would be worth having a lawyer confirm exactly what your rights were regarding this specific request, and, separately, what should now happen to the sample given the current status of the investigation involving you. If you are concerned that a sample was taken outside the proper legal process, or that it is being retained longer than legally permitted, this is worth raising formally and promptly rather than assuming it will be handled correctly by default.