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| Five current and ex-Microsoft workers arrested at sit-in over Israeli military ties | |
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| Police placed protesters in harnesses and took them in after sit-in urging tech giant to cut ties with Israeli government | |
| At least two current and three former Microsoft employees – as well as two other tech workers – were arrested at the company’s headquarters after staging a sit-in demonstration at the company president’s office urging that Microsoft cut ties with the Israeli government. | |
| Police placed the protesters in full-body harnesses and carried them out of the building, according to Abdo Mohamed, a former Microsoft worker and who helped organize the demonstration. “No arrests, no violence, will deter us from continuing to speak up,” he said. | Police placed the protesters in full-body harnesses and carried them out of the building, according to Abdo Mohamed, a former Microsoft worker and who helped organize the demonstration. “No arrests, no violence, will deter us from continuing to speak up,” he said. |
| In addition to the protesters who staged a sit-in at Microsoft president Brad Smith’s office, other employees, former staff and supporters had gathered outside the headquarters. | In addition to the protesters who staged a sit-in at Microsoft president Brad Smith’s office, other employees, former staff and supporters had gathered outside the headquarters. |
| The demonstration on Tuesday was part of a series of actions organized by current and former staff over Microsoft’s cloud contracts with the Israeli government. Twenty activists were arrested at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington last week. | The demonstration on Tuesday was part of a series of actions organized by current and former staff over Microsoft’s cloud contracts with the Israeli government. Twenty activists were arrested at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington last week. |
| The latest protests came after joint investigation by the Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, revealed earlier this month that Israel’s military surveillance agency, Unit 8200, was making use of Microsoft’s Azure software to store countless recordings of mobile phone calls made by Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. | The latest protests came after joint investigation by the Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, revealed earlier this month that Israel’s military surveillance agency, Unit 8200, was making use of Microsoft’s Azure software to store countless recordings of mobile phone calls made by Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. |
| The company has said it was not aware “of the surveillance of civilians or collection of their cellphone conversations using Microsoft’s services”. | The company has said it was not aware “of the surveillance of civilians or collection of their cellphone conversations using Microsoft’s services”. |
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| Microsoft did not immediately respond to a query from the Guardian on Tuesday. | Microsoft did not immediately respond to a query from the Guardian on Tuesday. |
| The company said it was launching an independent investigation into the use of its Azure software, but activists wanted to escalate actions due to what they viewed as inadequate action from the company. | The company said it was launching an independent investigation into the use of its Azure software, but activists wanted to escalate actions due to what they viewed as inadequate action from the company. |
| “You continue to try to bury your head in the sand, so we are here today outside your blood-soaked thrones, to continue pulling your baby-killer necks out of your sand holes and continue to force you to confront your complicity, until you stop powering the murdering our people,” said Ibtihal Aboussad, one of the protesters who delivered a speech outside the company headquarters on Tuesday. | “You continue to try to bury your head in the sand, so we are here today outside your blood-soaked thrones, to continue pulling your baby-killer necks out of your sand holes and continue to force you to confront your complicity, until you stop powering the murdering our people,” said Ibtihal Aboussad, one of the protesters who delivered a speech outside the company headquarters on Tuesday. |
| Meanwhile, Microsoft has been taking extraordinary measures to quell demonstrations, which have been ongoing for months. According to a report from Bloomberg, the company has requested help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to track protests, and worked with local authorities to stop them. | Meanwhile, Microsoft has been taking extraordinary measures to quell demonstrations, which have been ongoing for months. According to a report from Bloomberg, the company has requested help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to track protests, and worked with local authorities to stop them. |