After the sporting battle, the legal one now follows: Olympic boxer Imane Khelif apparently wants to take active steps against Internet hate speech against her.
After her Olympic victory, the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is apparently waging a legal battle against hate messages on the Internet. Nabil Boudi, who works as the 25-year-old’s lawyer according to the French sports newspaper “L’Équipe”, published a corresponding press release on the X platform. In it, the lawyer announced that he would be filing a complaint about cyberbullying with the relevant department of the Paris public prosecutor’s office.
The criminal investigations are intended to clarify who initiated the “misogynistic, racist and sexist campaign” and who fuelled it, the letter continues. This will remain “the greatest stain on these Olympic Games”. A legal battle will be waged for “justice, dignity and honour”.
The fights of Khelif and Lin Yi-ting (28) from Taiwan were accompanied by an emotional gender debate during the Olympics. This went far beyond the question of fair competition in sporting terms and also reached the highest political circles. In the socio-politically heated atmosphere, both athletes experienced a lot of hostility on the Internet.
Support for human rights organizations
“The horrific level of online abuse against Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting is another deeply disturbing example of the toxic, sexist and racist discourse that has harmed women in sport and society,” said Stephen Cockburn of Amnesty International in the Sports & Rights Alliance’s statement. Representatives of other human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and ILGA World also supported the two athletes.
Both boxers were excluded from the 2023 World Cup after gender tests that have not yet been explained in detail by the IBA, which is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). According to the IBA, both did not meet the required participation criteria and had “competitive advantages compared to other female participants.” The IOC called it an “arbitrary decision without due process” and allowed Khelif and Lin to participate in Paris. The gender stated in the passport is decisive for admission to competitions in many sports, was one reason given.
Source: Stern
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