Algeria boxing champion files criminal lawsuit over ‘acts of aggravated cyber harassment’, targeting J.K. Rowling, Elon Musk

Algerian boxer and Olympic gold medallist, Imane Khelif, has filed a criminal lawsuit against figures who committed alleged “acts of aggravated cyber harassment” against her, including author, J.K. Rowling and business magnate, Elon Musk.

Throughout the duration of the two-weeks-long Olympic Games in France’s capital, Paris, many suspected and accused Khelif of being a man due to her apparently high testosterone levels and her more muscular frame and shoulder width compared to other female contestants in the games’ boxing categories.

Reports also emerged that she has XY chromosomes – the DNA trait possessed by biological males – which had led to her being banned last year from the world boxing championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA), which branded her ineligible to face women in the ring.

Despite that, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) disputed that and repeatedly asserted Khelif’s eligibility to compete in the Olympics’ women’s division, with many reports asserting she has a condition which causes her to develop some traits typically possessed by men. Besides that, Khelif has repeatedly insisted that she was born female, is listed as female in her passport and has never identified as transgender.

WATCH: Algerian boxing win overshadowed by gender controversy

Filed at the anti-online hatred centre of the Paris public prosecutor’s office on 9 August, the lawsuit accuses the detractors and critics of her participation in the Olympics’ women’s boxing division of committing “acts of aggravated cyber harassment”.

According to Nabil Boudi, the Paris-based attorney representing Khelif, “J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others”. He added that former US President, Donald Trump, may also be part of the investigation after he criticised the boxer and questioned her sex at a rally last week, “so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution”.

Boudi elaborated that the lawsuit was filed against social media platform X, which is owned by Elon Musk, in order to “ensure that the prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people”. Although the lawsuit mentions specific names, it notably seeks for the prosecution to investigate “not only these people but whoever it feels necessary”.

“If the case goes to court, they [the defendants] will stand trial,” Boudi warned, and although the lawsuit was filed in France, he confirmed that “it could target personalities overseas” due to prosecutors being able to request assistance from other countries.

If the prosecutor’s office does charge anyone, it could reportedly demand sentences from two to five years in prison and tens of thousands of Euros in fines.

OPINION: France wins Olympic gold for hypocrisy