Imane Khelif defends herself against online agitators – lawsuit names Musk and Rowling

During the Olympic Games in Paris, boxer and gold medalist Imane Khelif was repeatedly attacked because of her gender. The athlete is now taking legal action against this. Just one day after her final victory, her lawyer Nabil Boudi announced via , formerly Twitter, that his client would file a lawsuit for “serious cyber harassment”.

Now the US magazine “Variety” is reporting on a lawsuit against unknown users of the platform X who had railed against the athlete. According to the media report, well-known personalities such as former US President Donald Trump, tech billionaire Elon Musk and author JK Rowling are named in the report. They had also spoken out about Khelif.

There was a heated debate in Paris about the athlete’s right to compete, which went far beyond the question of sporting fairness. The boxer was excluded from the 2023 World Cup by the IBA association, which is no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), after gender tests that have not yet been clarified. The IOC allowed Khelif to participate in Paris. The gender stated in the passport is decisive for admission to competitions in many sports, was one reason given.

Lawyer Boudi has now confirmed to the US magazine that the personalities appear in the lawsuit: “JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” said Boudi. “Trump tweeted, so whether he is named in our lawsuit or not, he will inevitably be investigated as part of the prosecution.” Trump, for example, had said on X that he would “keep men away from women’s sports.”

However, the criminal investigations by the Paris public prosecutor’s office are not specifically directed against the people named in the document, but are first intended to clarify who initiated the “misogynistic, racist and sexist campaign” and who fueled it, according to Boudi’s first letter. This will remain “the greatest stain on these Olympic Games”. A legal battle will be waged for “justice, dignity and honour”.

Imane Khelif is supported by human rights organizations

The lawsuit was filed against X. In French law, this means that it was filed against unknown persons. According to Boudi, this “ensures that the public prosecutor’s office has full scope to investigate all persons.” This should include hate messages written under pseudonyms.

The fights of the Algerian boxer Khelif and Lin Yi-ting (28) from Taiwan were accompanied by an emotional gender debate during the Olympics. In the socio-politically heated atmosphere, both athletes experienced numerous hostilities on the Internet.

“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.

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