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Algerian boxer, Imane Khelif has filed a criminal complaint to the French authorities over alleged “acts of cyber harassment” she experienced during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
As reported by Variety, the lawsuit is filed against X, which while by French laws, means that its filed against unknown persons, it specifically names both J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk in the body of the complaint.
Being filed against X also means that the prosecution can investigate those that may have posted anonymously under pseudonyms or troll accounts.
During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Khelif faced an onslaught of online vitriol fuelled by misinformation about her gender.
The champion boxer, who is biologically a woman and does not identify as trans or intersex, was wrongly accused of competing as a trans competitor in the women’s boxing event.
Rowling, who has been vocal about her anti-trans views online, posted the following tweet to her 14.2 million followers on Twitter after Khelif’s beat Italian boxer Angela Carini.
“A young female boxer has just had everything she’s worked and trained for snatched away because you allowed a male to get in the ring with her,” Rowling tweeted.
Rowling also shared a picture of the the fight and accused Khelif of being a man “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head.”
Musk also shared a post from swimmer Riley Gaines, that claimed, “men don’t belong in women’s sports,” and added the comment “absolutely.”
Khelif’s Paris-based attorney, Nabil Boudi, confirmed to Variety that while the lawsuit mentions names, its up to the prosecution to decide who to investigate.
“What we’re asking is that the prosecution investigates not only these people but whoever it feels necessary. If the case goes to court, they will stand trial,” Boudi told the publication.
Boudi also confirmed that the lawsuit could “target personalities overseas,” explaining that “the prosecutor’s office for combating online hate speech has the possibility to make requests for mutual legal assistance with other countries.”
Most notably, Boudi emphasised that cyber harassment cases are now being taken more seriously by judicial authorities and that in some cases “there are prison sentences.”
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