JK ROWLING AND Elon Musk have reportedly been named in a criminal complaint filed by Algerian Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif.
The complaint, which was filed with French authorities, alleges “acts of aggravated cyber harassment” against Khelif, according to US magazine Variety.
The athlete’s lawyer Nabil Boudi called it a “fight for justice.”
“The investigation will determine who was behind this misogynist, racist and sexist campaign, but will also have to concern itself with those who fed the online lynching,” he said in recent days.
Khelif won the women’s 66kg final against China’s Yang Liu in a unanimous points decision, having been the focus of intense scrutiny in the French capital during the Olympics.
Together with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won the 57kg women’s final, Khelif was disqualified from last year’s world championships after she reportedly failed gender eligibility testing.
However, she was cleared to compete in Paris by the IOC, setting the stage for one of the biggest controversies of the Games.
The IOC strongly defended the decision, with spokesperson Mark Adams saying she was “born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport.”
The row in Paris erupted after Khelif won her bout against Italy’s Angela Carini in just 46 seconds with two strong punches to the Italian’s nose.
Carini later said she wanted to apologise to Khelif for how she handled the moments after the fight.
Both Khelif and Lin were subject to significant disinformation about their gender during the Games, with incorrect claims that they were transgender circulating online.
Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has even weighed in on the controversy, showing his support for Khelif and calling her critics “a bunch of bullies”.
“I hope she has financial support for her lawsuit. I’d be happy to make a donation,” he said in an Instagram post.
“She was born a girl, almost certainly assigned that gender by the doctor or midwife based on her physical characteristics. She was raised as a woman by her family and is accepted as such by her community.
“Even if she wanted to identify as a transman or intersex (which she doesn’t) that’s not an option for her in a conservative, religious, traditional country like Algeria.
“This is the World they want us all to live in and still they attacked her. Bunch of bullies looking for a soft target.”
On Monday, Khelif received a hero’s welcome at Algiers airport, with crowds cheering the boxer with chants of “Tahia Imane” (Long live Imane).
With reporting from © AFP 2024.
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