PARIS – Algerian gold-medal boxer Imane Khelif has filed a complaint with the Paris public prosecutor’s office for “acts of aggravated cyber harassment’ committed against her, according to an attorney who says he’s working with the Olympic champion.
Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who both won gold medals in women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics, were targeted in a “gender eligibility’ controversy during the Games.
Nabil Boudi, the attorney who says he’s representing Khelif, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY Sports. But he addressed the matter in a statement issued on his verified account on X, formerly Twitter.
“The criminal investigation will determine who initiated this misogynistic, racist and sexist campaign but will also have to focus on those who fueled this digital lynching,’ Boudi’s statement read. “The unfair harassment suffered by the boxing champion will remain the biggest stain of these Olympic Games.’
Le Monde, the French paper based in Paris, reported that it has viewed the complaint. Reuters also reported it and spoke directly to Boudi, who said the complaint was filed Friday.
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Khelif, 25, and Lin, 28, were subjected to abuse on social media and inaccurate online speculation about their gender, even though the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said they both have met all criteria and that there’s no question they are women.
‘All that is being said about me on social media is immoral,’ Khelif said Saturday, according to Reuters. “I want to change the minds of people around the world.’