WASHINGTON: Redmond police arrested seven protesters on Tuesday after a sit-in at the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith in Washington.
The demonstration was part of an escalating campaign by the group “No Azure for Apartheid” — which includes current and former Microsoft employees — over what it describes as the company’s complicity in alleged Israeli war crimes through its Azure cloud services.
During the sit-in, which included demands that the tech giant sever ties with the Israeli military, demonstrators entered Building 34 and occupied Smith’s office.
They hung a notice that read “The People’s Court Summons Bradford Lee Smith on Charges of Crimes Against Humanity” and chanted slogans such as “Brad Smith, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide!” and “Free Palestine.” They also hung a banner by the office window that said “Mai Ubeid Building,” in honor of a Palestinian software engineer killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
On Tuesday, Microsoft’s Smith confirmed two of the protesters were current employees who would face disciplinary action. No further details were disclosed as internal investigations are ongoing.
