JK Rowling and Elon Musk reportedly named in Imane Khelif lawsuit

Boxer Imane Khelif has filed a lawsuit over alleged cyberbullying throughout the Paris 2024 Olympics, which reportedly names creator JK Rowling and X proprietor Elon Musk.

The Algerian boxer received gold in Paris, regardless of being disqualified from final yr’s World Championships by the Worldwide Boxing Affiliation (IBA), after she was reported to have failed gender eligibility assessments in 2023.

Nevertheless, the Worldwide Olympic Committee strongly defended Khelif’s proper to compete and dominated her to be eligible.

Her lawyer Nabil Boudi advised Selection on Tuesday that Musk and Rowling can be named within the lawsuit, following feedback they made on social media.

Khelif’s participation was broadly mentioned on-line, after Italian boxer Angela Carini deserted her Olympic bout in opposition to her after 46 seconds.

Paris public prosecutor’s workplace advised information company AFP on Wednesday that that they had launched a cyberbullying probe, following a grievance by Khelif.

Nevertheless, a outstanding French authorized blogger wrote on X that it’s unlikely Mr Musk or Ms Rowling would face prosecution, as French penal legislation doesn’t apply to acts dedicated outdoors of France in opposition to overseas nationals.

However prosecutors may press prices in opposition to those that despatched messages on French soil.

Khelif, together with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, was cleared to compete within the ladies’s boxing in Paris, having been disqualified from final yr’s Ladies’s World Championships for failing to fulfill eligibility standards.

However the IOC took a special view, strongly defending the 2 boxers.

“This is a question of justice: women must be allowed to take part in women’s competitions. And the two are women,” IOC president Thomas Bach mentioned.

X CEO Mr Musk and Harry Potter creator Ms Rowling each posted feedback concerning the boxer, with Ms Rowling saying Khelif was “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head” following the struggle with Carini.

Mr Musk shared a submit from swimmer Riley Gaines which mentioned “men don’t belong in women’s sports”.

BBC Information has contacted representatives for Mr Musk and Ms Rowling for remark.

Following her win, Khelif mentioned “attacks” over her gender eligibility gave her victory in opposition to Chinese language world champion Yang Liu a “special taste” after she received Olympic ladies’s boxing gold, a yr after being disqualified from the World Championships.

“I am fully qualified to take part in this competition,” mentioned 25-year-old Khelif. “I am a woman like any other woman.

“I used to be born a girl. I’ve lived as a girl. I competed as a girl – there isn’t a doubt about that.”

A day after abandoning her own fight with Khelif, Carini said she “wished to apologise” to her opponent for how she handled the moments afterwards, when she declined to shake hands with Khelif.

Yang had also been due to face Khelif in the final of last year’s World Championship – a title Yang went on to win – but Khelif was disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) before they met.

The IBA said Khelif and Lin “failed to fulfill the eligibility standards for taking part within the ladies’s competitors, as set and specified by the IBA rules”.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed them to compete, raised doubts about the tests and strongly criticised the IBA.

A chaotic news conference held subsequently by the IBA did little to clear the confusion around Khelif and Lin’s bans.

Chief executive Chris Roberts said the pair had “chromosome assessments”, while president Umar Kremlev appeared to suggest the tests determined the fighters’ testosterone levels.

The BBC has been unable to determine what the eligibility tests consisted of.

The Russian-led IBA was stripped of its standing as newbie boxing’s governing physique by the IOC in 2019 due to fears over its governance and regulation.