Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling have been named in a lawsuit filed to French authorities over alleged ‘cyber harassment’ against Olympic champion boxer Imane Khelif.
Nabil Boudi, Khelif’s attorney, has confirmed that the criminal complaint has been filed with the Paris public prosecutor’s office last Friday. ‘J. K.
Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,’ Boudi told Variety . ‘[Donald] Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution. ‘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.’ The lawsuit has been filed against X, the social media platform owned by Musk, which means that under French law it was filed against unknown persons. The lawsuit accuses X of facilitating ‘acts of aggravated cyber harassment’.
‘It’s the responsibility of lawmakers to issue sanctions to platforms, not ours,’ Boudi said. Khelif, who became Algeria’s first Olympic gold medallist in women’s boxing and their first boxer to win gold since 1996, faced scrutiny over her participation in Paris after she was disqualified from the Women’s World Championships last year for failing the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) gender eligibility rules. The 25-year-old has always competed in the women’s boxing division and has identified as female since birth .
Harry Potter author Rowling was among the high-profile voices who spoke out against Khelif’s participation against other female boxers. After Khelif’s win over Angela Carini , Rowling posted an image on X of the Italian in tears after she chose to withdraw from her fight against the Algerian and wrote: ‘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.’ Musk, meanwhile, shared a post from American swimmer Riley Gaines which read: ‘Men don’t belong in women’s sports’.
Musk added to the message by writing: ‘Absolutely.’ On his Truth Social outlet, Trump wrote: ‘I will keep men out of women’s sports.’ Speaking after her gold medal win in Paris, Khelif described those who have raised doubts over her gender as ‘the enemies of success’.
‘Now the whole world knows the story of Imane Khelif,’ she said. ‘It’s a dream for every athlete. If I qualify or not? If I’m a woman or not? I made many statements in the media.
I’m fully qualified, I’m a woman, I was born a woman, I lived a woman, there’s no doubt about that. ‘These people [who claim I am not], they are the enemies of success, it’s what I call them, it gives my success a special taste because of these attacks. ‘I hope that people will commit to the Olympic charter and its values.
We’re here to perform to our audience and families. I hope we will not see similar attacks in these Olympics.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page .
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