Microsoft activists arrested in HQ protest over tech giant’s Israel ties
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Microsoft employees holding a rally for Gaza at the company’s Redmond, Washington, headquarters on Aug 19.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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REDMOND, Washington – Microsoft activist employees and supporters were arrested after returning to the company’s headquarters for a second day to demand that the software maker sever business ties with the Israeli military.
Protesters were warned to leave on Aug 19 or face trespassing charges, and quickly did so.
They gathered again in the afternoon on Aug 20 at the Redmond, Washington, headquarters, setting up tents and chanting slogans.
Police began to clear the demonstration about an hour after it began, removing bicycles and upturned tables that were formed into a makeshift barricade.
Several protesters were led off in handcuffs and zip ties. One, who had been speaking into a bullhorn, was wrestled to the ground by police and taken away. Another protester was put in restraints and carried off.
A total of 18 people were arrested on charges that included trespassing, malicious mischief, resisting arrest and obstruction, according to an e-mail from Ms Jill Green, a spokeswoman for the Redmond Police Department.
The employee group behind the protest, No Azure for Apartheid, wants the company to stop selling cloud services and artificial intelligence tools to Israel, claiming that use of Microsoft’s products is contributing to civilian deaths in Gaza.
Azure, the company’s cloud computing division, sells on-demand software and data storage to businesses and governments around the world.
Microsoft previously fired a handful of No Azure for Apartheid organisers for holding what it said was an unauthorised event on campus and disrupting speeches by executives.
In a blog post published in May, the company said it “found no evidence to date that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies have been used to target or harm people in the conflict in Gaza”.
But Microsoft said in August that it enlisted the law firm Covington & Burling to conduct a further review after a report that Israel’s military surveillance agency intercepted millions of mobile phone calls made by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and stored them on Azure servers.
The data helped inform the selection of bombing targets
