Late Soho king ‘Big Frank’ loses case against Malta

‘Big Frank’, who ran a vice syndicate in London’s red light district in the 1960s and 1970s, lost a case he took to the European Court of Human Rights after being forced to submit to a paternity test against his will. Francesco Saverio Mifsud, who resided in Sliema, complained in mid-December 2015 that a Maltese law forcing him to provide a genetic sample in paternity proceedings contrary to his will violated his right to respect for private and family life. He died in Malta two years later, aged 91 and his Irish wife, Margaret, decided to continue with the proceedings. The case dates back to December 2012 when a woman – named in the Maltese proceedings as Diana Abdilla, then 54, but who is not identified by the Strasbourg Court, which refers to her as ‘X’ – claimed that Mr Mifsud was her biological father and asked the Civil Court (Family Section) in Malta to order that this be reflected on her birth certificate. The Public Registry director requested the court to order the parties submit themselves to genetic tests. On the same day the director filed his application, Mr Mifsud denied he was the father and claimed that Ms Abdilla’s mother had had various partners. Ms Abdilla...