Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, has filed a lawsuit alleging she was harassed online after winning a gold medal in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
With thousands of Algerians cheering her on, Khelif easily defeated Yang Liu of China to win the gold medal in her 66kg event on Friday night.
However, she has been the subject of close attention for the past two weeks after she was ruled ineligible for the Women’s World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for allegedly breaking gender eligibility regulations.
Khelif was given the all-clear to compete by the International Olympic Committee, which has supported her participation in the Games.
In the aftermath of her gold medal success, Khelif’s lawyer has now confirmed via a statement released on Saturday night she is taking action against those who have abused her online.
‘Mrs Khelif contacted the firm, which filed a complaint yesterday for aggravated cyber harassment with the online hate centre of the Paris prosecutor’s office,’ said Nabil Boudi.
‘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. The unfair harassment suffered by the boxing champion will remain the biggest stain of these Olympic Games.’
Khelif was one of two fighters to be disqualified from the World Championships last year. Lin Yu-ting, the other fighter in question, also went onto win gold on Saturday night.
The Taiwanese fighter could follow Khelif in taking legal action.
‘This is something that I will discuss with my team, so we will decide later what will be the next step,’ she said.
After winning her medal, an emotional Khelief issued a defiant message as she insisted the abuse and scrutiny she fought under made her triumph even sweeter.
‘I am fully qualified to take part in this competition – I am a woman,’ she said. ‘I was born a woman, I’ve lived as a woman and I’ve competed as a woman.
‘These people [who claim I am not], they are the enemies of success. It’s what I call them. It gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.
‘My message to the whole world is that they should commit to Olympic principles and they should not bully people.
‘I hope that people will stop bullying, and I hope we will not see similar attacks in future Olympics.’