Imane Khelif the Algerian boxer at the centre of a gender row at the Paris Olympics had filed a legal complaint – saying she’s been a victim of online harassment.
The 25-year-old took home the gold medal in the women’s welterweight final but last she was disqualified from the World Championships by the IBA for failing an unspecified gender test.
It emerged that she had filed an official complaint and named individuals such as Elon Musk, Donald Trump and JK Rowling who all took to social media to slam the athlete.
As reported by Variety, Khelif and her legal team have filed a criminal case against social media X over alleged “acts of aggravated cyber harassment.”
Nabil Boudi, Khelif’s lawyer, revealed that this is done to “ensure that the prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people” including hateful users who have anonymous accounts or pseudonyms.
He added: “J. K. Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others.”
Boudi also confirmed that former US President Donald Trump’s activity will be looked at.
“Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution.
Now, the 25-year-old Olympic champion has spoken out after a successful Olympics campaign.
Khelif told El Birad: “Immediately after there was a big uproar from big politicians around the world, athletes around the world, and even artists and stars, Elon Musk, Trump.. this thing….. that affected me.
“I am not lying to you, it affected me. It affected me a lot, hurt me a lot. I can’t describe to you the amount of fear I had.
“The scenario was very scary. Thank god, all the people of Algeria and the Arab world knew Imane Khelif with her femininity, her courage, her will,’ said the Algerian boxer.
“Honestly, I don’t like to get into politics in sports, but they got into politics in sports. Sports and politics are two separate things.
“These politicians who are oppressing me, they don’t have the right to say that I’m a transgender.”
