This came after Iman was the victim of a controversy over her sexual identity, according to what her lawyer, Nabil Boudi, announced on Saturday.
“After just winning a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, boxer Iman Khalif has decided to fight a new battle: a battle for justice, dignity and honor,” Boudi said in a statement.
He pointed out that “on Friday, she filed a complaint regarding serious acts of electronic harassment with the Center for Combating Electronic Hate of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Paris.”
“The criminal investigation will determine who started this misogynistic, racist and sexist campaign, but it will also have to focus on those who fueled this digital lynching,” he continued.
For him, “the unfair harassment of the boxing champion will remain the biggest mark of these Olympic Games.”
On Friday evening, Khalif won the 66 kg final at Roland Garros, the tennis stronghold that has been transformed into a hall to host boxing matches.
She defeated the second-ranked Chinese Liu Yang 5-0 by unanimous decision, becoming the first Algerian and African boxer to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games.
Three years after her participation in the Tokyo Olympics, where she did not cause any controversy, the 25-year-old found herself in Paris in the middle of a controversy over her sexual identity, against the backdrop of a dispute between the International Olympic Committee and the International Boxing Federation.
According to the International Federation, Khalif failed a test to determine her gender. For the International Olympic Committee, her eligibility is not in doubt, as she was allowed to participate in women’s bouts.
Algerian boxing has become a victim of a campaign of hate and misinformation tainted with racism on social media.
“I am a strong woman with special powers. From the ring, I sent a message to those who were against me,” Iman Khalif told the media on Friday after winning the gold medal.
“I have been subjected to attacks and a fierce campaign, and this is the best answer I can give. The answer has always been in the ring,” she continued.
She stressed: “I am fully qualified to participate. I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman and I competed as a woman.”
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