Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who won the Olympic gold medal in the women’s boxing 66-kilogram division, has filed a complaint over online harassment in Paris.
During her run at the Olympics, the 25-year-old athlete was bullied on social media after one of her opponents, Italian boxer Angela Carini, abandoned the quarter-final match 46 seconds into its start and declared she “never felt a punch like this.” Khelif was disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from last year’s Women’s World Championships after she failed a gender eligibility test due to elevated levels of testosterone in her system, but was born female and does not identify as transgender or intersex.
However, prominent influencers such as Logan Paul falsely claimed that Khelif was a man (Paul later retracted his statement), while other controversial figures like J.K. Rowling, Elon Musk, Donald Trump and Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni blamed the Olympics for allowing Khelif to compete in the women’s boxing competition.
Shortly after her victory over China’s Yang Liu on Friday, Khelif filed the complaint to the national center for combating online hate which is part of Paris correctional court, her lawyer, Nabil Boudi, confirmed to Variety. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office, which has yet to receive the complaint, is expected to proceed to an investigation.
Boudi told French newspaper Le Monde that Khelif had been victim of online bullying and “speculation fueled by malicious individuals” and pointed out “these messages were posted by important political figures” and “exceeded 100 million views” in some cases.
Khelif opened up about the ordeal during an interview with SNTV, a media outlet affiliated with the Associated Press, and said that her family was worried about her. “I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” she said.
Khelif said bullying “can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.” She also thanked the Olympic Committee for doing her “justice.”
Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Commitee, has questioned the legitimacy of these claims and the genetic test that disqualified Khelif last year, suggesting that the controversy over her gender had been orchestrated by the IBA. The organization is led by Russian oligarchs and has been banned from the Olympics since June 2023 due to its ties to the Kremlin.
Khelif is one of several people involved in these Olympics to have filed a complaint over online bullying. Opening and closing ceremony artistic director Thomas Jolly, executive director Thierry Reboul, DJ Barbara Butch and famed drag queen Nicky Doll have also filed complaints.
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