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Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who won gold at the Paris Olympics amid gender row, has named Elon Musk and JK Rowling in her complaint against ‘cyber-harassment’. read more
 "What they said and more")
JK Rowling and Elon Musk have been named in Imane Khalif's lawsuit after Olympics gender row. Reuters/AP
Algerian gold medallist Imane Khalif, who was at the centre of a gender dispute during the Paris Olympics 2024, has named JK Rowling and Elon Musk in her legal complaint over online harassment. Khelif won the top prize in the women’s welterweight category on Friday to become the first female boxer from Algeria to win a gold at the Games, but her journey to the top of the podium has been marked with constant scrutiny of her gender.
Khelif took part in the Olympics despite being disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) last year after a gender test. She was disqualified during the women’s World Championships in 2023 after failing a gender eligibility test. The IBA, however, has not furnished any details about the test so far, leading to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) clearing Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting for the Paris 2024.
It is to be noted that the IBA has also been suspended by the IOC over charges of misappropriation of funds and corruption.
Khelif’s lawyer Nabil Boudi has confirmed that her complaint was filed on Friday with a special unit in the Paris prosecutor’s office against online harassment which led to “aggravated cyber-harassment”
He described the online harassment as a “misogynist, racist and sexist campaign” against Khelif.
What did Musk and Rowling say?
In an interview with Variety, Boudi said Rowling and Musk have been named in the lawsuit while Donald Trump could also be part of the investigation.
“JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” he said.
“Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution.”
He further added: “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.”
Famous author Rowling while writing a post on X (formerly Twitter), a social media platform owned by Musk, said that Khelif was a “male” who “knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”
Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered. #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Q5SbKiksXQ
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 1, 2024Musk did not make a direct comment but he shared a post of American swimmer Riley Gaines which said, “Men don’t belong in women’s sports.”
While sharing Gaines’ post, Musk wrote: “Absolutely.”
On his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “I will keep men out of women’s sports.”
After winning the gold medal last week, Khelif said her victory was the best response to the critics.
“I am fully qualified to take part, I am a woman like any other. I was born a woman, lived a woman and competed as a woman,” she said.
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English (US) ·