PARIS– French prosecutors have opened an investigation into a claim of online harassment made by Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif, following a torrent of criticism and false allegations about her sex during summer gamesthe Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.
Athlete’s lawyer Nabil Boudi filed a legal complaint with a special unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office combating online hate speech on Friday.
Boudi said the boxer was the target of a “misogynistic, racist and sexist campaign” while she won gold in the women’s welterweight category, becoming hero in his homeland, Algeria and bringing global attention to women’s boxing.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office said it had received the complaint and its Office for the Fight against Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crimes opened an investigation into accusations of “cyber harassment based on gender, public insults based on gender, public incitement to discrimination and public insults against the home base.”
Khelif was unwittingly thrust into a global conflict over gender identity and sports regulation after her first fight in Paris, when Italian opponent Angela Carini He withdrew just seconds after the start of the match, citing pain from the initial punches.
False claims that Khelif was transgender or male emerged online, and the International Olympic Committee defended her and denounced those peddling misinformation. Khelif said that the propagation of misconceptions about it “harms human dignity”.
Among those who posted misinformation about the athlete were Donald Trump, Elon Musk and JK Rowling.
Khelif’s legal complaint was filed against social media platforms, including “X,” rather than a specific perpetrator, a common formulation under French law that leaves it to investigators to determine which person or organization may have been to blame.
The Paris prosecutor’s office did not name specific suspects.
The event occurred two days after Khelif returned to Algeria, where he is expected to meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and be welcomed by family in his hometown, Ain Mesbah.
In Algeria, Khelif’s former coach Mustapha Bensaou said the boxer’s complaint in France was initiated by Algerian authorities and should “serve as a lesson in defending the rights and honor (of athletes) in Algeria and throughout the world.” world”.
“Everyone involved will be prosecuted for violating Imane’s dignity and honor,” Bensaou said in an interview with the Associated Press. He added: “The attacks on Imane were designed to break her and undermine her morale. Thank God she triumphed.”
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