Microsoft and protesters supplied sharply conflicting accounts of an indication that led to twenty arrests on the corporate’s Redmond campus Wednesday, with organizers alleging police brutality, and the corporate saying the overwhelming majority of these arrested weren’t staff.
“We wish to be clear that the damaging and aggressive protest that occurred on our campus on August 20 doesn’t symbolize our workforce,” the corporate stated in a press release Thursday afternoon.
At a press convention Thursday, members of the group No Azure for Apartheid described what they known as “pointless and unjustifiable violence” by police.
The dueling statements adopted two days of escalating protests over Microsoft’s expertise contracts with Israel. The group is demanding the corporate minimize all ties with Israel over its alleged use of Microsoft expertise in opposition to Palestinians in Gaza.
After disbanding on Tuesday, demonstrators returned Wednesday to once more take over a portion of the plaza at Microsoft’s East Campus. They poured pink paint on an organization signal to represent blood, and blocked a bridge, resulting in arrests on expenses together with trespassing, malicious mischief, and resisting arrest.
Microsoft has pledged to proceed upholding human rights requirements in its tech contracts. Final week, the corporate introduced a evaluate of a current report by the Guardian and others that its Azure cloud platform is used within the surveillance of Palestinians.
In its assertion Thursday, the corporate stated the 20 folks arrested within the Wednesday protest included one present worker, and three former staff. (The whole elevated from preliminary studies of 18 arrests.)
“Nearly all of these arrested [Wednesday], together with some carrying pretend firm ID playing cards, have by no means labored at Microsoft,” the corporate stated.
The assertion added, “Whereas we assist staff’ rights to political expression, our staff know that our campuses are locations for enterprise and demonstrations on our non-public property usually are not permitted.”
No Azure for Apartheid held a press convention Thursday night at a public transit station close to the Microsoft campus, calling once more on the corporate to chop ties with Israel.
Hossam Nasr, an organizer of the group and a former Microsoft worker who was amongst these arrested, stated he was “violently tackled” and suffered a shoulder harm when a driver slammed on the brakes after he was positioned in a police automobile with out a seatbelt.
One other protester on the press convention stated he was shot at point-blank vary within the again with pepper balls. Close to the scene of the protest Wednesday afternoon, GeekWire reporters noticed the protester with massive welts on his again after his arrest.
Jill Inexperienced, public data officer for the Redmond Police Division, stated through e-mail that the police haven’t acquired any claims from protesters.
The police stated in a submit on X on Wednesday that no accidents had been reported.
An preliminary model of that submit on Wednesday by the Redmond Police included {a photograph} of 4 officers arresting a protester on the bottom. That submit was eliminated and the picture was not included when an up to date submit was revealed later.
Microsoft launched surveillance video that reveals protesters taking up the area in entrance of the Microsoft signal on their bikes; trying to corral a police officer inside a transportable fence; confronting a DJ who was there for a neighborhood farmers’ marketplace for staff; and in the end inflicting the market to be shut down.
