BARCELONA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd October, 2019) Protesters in Barcelona have pelted the building of the Catalan department of internal affairs with paint-filled balloons as rallies in the region enter the second week, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene on Monday.
Earlier, a call to "paint this building and those who guard it" was published on social media.
Hundreds of people have joined the action organized by the pro-independence Committees for the Defense of the Republic.
The action initially started as a peaceful protest, with people shouting slogans and playing with colorful balloons. Other protesters - mostly the youth - meanwhile began filling the balloons with paint.
Several minutes later, when the crowd engaged in vandalism, a police van outside the building was almost completely covered with paint.
Reporters on the scene were prepared for the action, putting on polyethylene raincoats and shielding their cameras.
The violent protests have been ongoing in Spain's secessionist region since October 14. They were sparked by the Spanish Supreme Court's ruling to sentence nine Catalan independence leaders to lengthy prison terms. Immediately after the ruling's announcement, rallies erupted throughout the region and have since turned violent. Hundreds of protesters have been injured and detained.
