[WATCH] Updated | Video shows graffiti defacing wall of Maltese consulate in Barcelona

Updated with Maltese embassy in Spain reaction

The walls of the Maltese consulate in Barcelona appear to have been sprayed with graffiti calling on Malta to open its ports.

A video on YouTube shows that various sections of the outer walls of the consulate were defaced with the words “open ports” and “Malta open ports”.

Although the video was uploaded to the popular video-sharing website on Wednesday, we cannot confirm the date the defacing incident happened.

The Maltese embassy in Spain is located in Madrid, but Malta also has consulates in other Spanish cities.

At the moment, 147 migrants are stranded in the Mediterranean on board the Spanish-flagged Open Arms vessel, run by Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms.

Moreover, 356 persons are on board the Norwegian-flagged Ocean Viking, operated by French NGOs SOS Méditerranée and MSF Sea (Doctors Without Borders).

The vessels have been stranded at sea for a number of days without a safe port to disembark in, as weather conditions continue to deteriorate. No European government has yet accepted to take in the migrants, despite multiple calls to offer them a safe port.

Earlier this week, the UNHCR called on Europe to show solidarity with the over 500 migrants, while Opposition leader Adrian Delia called on the Maltese government on Tuesday to allow the persons concerned disembarkation on Maltese shores.

Maltese embassy reaction

The Maltese embassy in Spain has clarified that the building shown in the video used to host the Honorary Consulate of Malta in Barcelona until December 2017. "The building no longer displays the Maltese flag and coat of arms and the picture featured in the video in question must, therefore, have been taken quite a while ago."

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