Boxing Champion Imane Khelif Files Legal Complaint for Online Harassment During Paris Olympics

Imane Khelif, the boxing champion who won gold in the women’s welterweight division, has filed a complaint in France for online harassment and false claims about her gender during the Paris Olympics, her lawyer Nabil Boudi said on Sunday. Khelif's victory has made her a hero in her native Algeria and has drawn global attention to women's boxing. She is also set to be Algeria's flag bearer in the closing ceremony.

Legal Complaint Filed

The complaint, filed with a special unit in the Paris prosecutor's office for combating online hate speech, alleges "aggravated cyber-harassment" directed at Khelif. Boudi described it as a "misogynist, racist and sexist campaign" against the boxer. It is now up to prosecutors to decide whether to open an investigation. As is common in French law, the complaint does not name an alleged perpetrator but leaves it to investigators to determine who could be at fault.

Khelif became unwittingly involved in a worldwide discussion on gender identity and regulation in sports after her first fight, when her Italian opponent Angela Carini withdrew seconds into the match due to pain from the opening punches. Following this, false claims that Khelif was transgender or a man circulated online. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) defended her and denounced those spreading misinformation. Khelif stated that the dissemination of misconceptions about her "harms human dignity." 

Earlier, Kirsty Burrows, an official in charge of the IOC's unit for safeguarding and mental health, filed a complaint with French authorities, stating that she received death threats and harassment online after a news conference in Paris where she spoke in defense of Khelif. The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed receiving Burrows' complaint on August 4 and is investigating the alleged offenses, including death threats, public provocations aimed at attacking a person, and cyberbullying. Under French law, if proven, these crimes could result in prison sentences ranging from two to five years and fines between 30,000 and 45,000 euros.

The International Boxing Association, which is banned from the Olympics, disqualified Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan from the world championships last year, claiming that the two fighters failed unspecified eligibility tests for women's competition. The IOC criticized the arbitrary sex tests that the sport's governing body imposed on the two women as irretrievably flawed and has supported both boxers since the beginning of the Paris Games.

Experts have pointed out that the scrutiny faced by Khelif and Lin reflects a disproportionate examination and discrimination towards female athletes of color concerning sex testing and unfounded claims that they are male or transgender. This scrutiny highlights the challenges that female athletes from diverse backgrounds face in sports, particularly in situations involving gender identity.