Investigation into online sexist harassment of Olympic champion Imane Khelif reports investigation
PARIS (AP) — French prosecutors have opened an investigation into an online harassment complaint filed by Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif after a barrage of criticism and false allegations about her. her sex during the Summer gamesthe Paris prosecutor’s office said on Monday.
The athlete’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi filed a legal complaint with a special unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office fighting online hate speech on Friday.
Boudi said the boxer was the target of a “misogynistic, racist and sexist campaign” because she won gold in the women’s welterweight division, becoming a heroine in her native Algeria and bringing a global dimension Attention to women’s boxing.
The prosecutor’s office said it had received the complaint and that its Office for Combating Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes had opened an investigation into “gender-based cyberbullying, gender-based public insults, public incitement to discrimination and public insults based on origin.”
Khelif was unwittingly thrust into a global conflict over gender identity and regulation in sport after her first fight in Paris, when Italian opponent Angela Carini withdrew seconds into the match, citing pain from the initial blows.
False allegations that Khelif was transgender or a man broke out online, and the International Olympic Committee defended her and denounced those spreading misinformation. Khelif said that the spread of false ideas about him “harms human dignity”.
Among those who posted false information about the athlete were Donald Trump, Elon Musk and JK Rowling.
Khelif’s complaint was filed against social media platforms, including “X,” rather than a specific perpetrator, a common formulation in French law that leaves it up to investigators to determine which person or organization might be at fault.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has not named any specific suspects.
The news comes two days after Khelif returned to Algeria, where she is expected to meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and be welcomed by her family in her hometown of Ain Mesbah.
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