Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif has taken legal action in France for online harassment after facing a barrage of criticism and false allegations about her gender during the Paris Olympics, her lawyer announced on Sunday.
Khelif, who is set to carry Algeria’s flag in the closing ceremony, clinched the gold on Friday in the women’s welterweight division, emerging as a new icon in her homeland of Algeria and shining a spotlight on women’s boxing globally.
The formal complaint was lodged on Friday with a specialized unit within the Paris prosecutor’s office that handles online hate speech, citing “aggravated cyber-harassment” directed at Khelif, according to her lawyer Nabil Boudi. In a statement, he condemned it as a “misogynistic, racist, and sexist campaign” against the athlete.
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Prosecutors will now determine whether to launch an investigation. In accordance with French law, the complaint does not specify a suspected perpetrator, leaving it to investigators to identify the responsible party.
Khelif was unwittingly pulled into a global debate on gender identity and sports regulations after her initial bout, during which her Italian rival Angela Carini withdrew within seconds, citing injuries from early punches. False claims alleging Khelif was transgender or male surfaced online, prompting the International Olympic Committee to defend her and condemn those spreading misinformation. Khelif expressed that the propagation of false information about her “infringes on human dignity.”
Earlier, Kirsty Burrows, an official with the IOC’s unit for safeguarding and mental health, filed a complaint with French authorities after receiving death threats and online harassment following a press conference in Paris where she had spoken in support of Khelif.
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The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed receipt of Burrows’ complaint on August 4th, with investigators from the National Unit for Combating Online Hate now looking into the alleged offenses, including death threats, public incitements to harm, and cyberbullying. If proven, these crimes carry prison sentences ranging from two to five years and fines from 30,000 to 45,000 euros under French law.
The International Boxing Association, banned from the Olympics, disqualified Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting from last year’s world championships, alleging unspecified eligibility test failures for women’s competition. The IOC criticized the arbitrary gender tests imposed by the sport’s governing body on the two athletes as fundamentally flawed and has stood by both boxers throughout the Paris Games.
Experts argue that the scrutiny faced by Khelif and Lin points to a disproportionate focus on female athletes of color in sex testing and false allegations of being male or transgender.
