Microsoft fires two employee protesters who occupied its president’s office

Microsoft has fired two employees, Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle, who were involved in a sit-in protest in the office of the company's vice chair and president, Brad Smith. The protesters, a group of seven, managed to gain access to Smith's office in Building 34, forcing Microsoft to temporarily lock down the executive building. The protesters live-streamed the incident on Twitch and demanded that the company cut ties with the Israeli government. Both Fameli and Hattle were arrested during the incident, along with several other former Microsoft employees and a former Google employee. Microsoft stated that the two employees were terminated due to "serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct." Following the arrests, Brad Smith held an emergency press conference in his office, addressing reporters and viewers on a YouTube live stream. He stated that Microsoft is committed to ensuring its human rights principles and contractual terms of service are upheld in the Middle East, and that the company had launched an investigation earlier this month after reports that its Azure cloud platform was being used for surveillance of Palestinians. The protests were organized by the group "No Azure for Apartheid," which is demanding that Microsoft cut its ties with the Israeli government. The group has carried out various protests in recent months, with the latest disruptions escalating to the homes and offices of Microsoft executives.