Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif has reportedly filed a criminal complaint with French authorities alleging “acts of aggravated cyber harassment” against her by public figures including JK Rowling and Elon Musk.
Khelif, 25, won gold in the women’s 66kg boxing contest at the Olympics on Saturday. Following her victory, Rowling criticized Khelif on social media, accusing her of being a man “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head” after Khelif’s opponent, Angela Carini, left the bout in tears. Musk shared a post claiming “men don’t belong in women’s sports” in reference to Khelif.
In an interview with El Birad, Khelif addressed the controversy: “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.”
Khelif’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, told Variety that Rowling and Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others. He added that former U.S. President Donald Trump, who also commented on the matter, may be investigated as part of the prosecution.
Khelif was born female and does not identify as transgender or intersex. However, she was disqualified from last year’s World Championships in India after failing an unspecified gender test. The International Boxing Association stated that tests showed Khelif had ‘XY chromosomes,’ but has not revealed which tests were used or published the results.
In France, cyberbullying offenses can result in prison sentences of two to five years and fines ranging from £26,000 to £39,000. If prosecuted as online hate speech, fines could reach £64,000 to £214,000.
