Elon Musk and JK Rowling could face five-year prison terms and fines of up to £214,000 if Paris 2024 Olympics boxer Imane Khelif wins her case against them – after she included the pair in a criminal ‘cyber-bullying’ lawsuit.
Tech billionaire Musk and Harry Potter author Rowling were among the high-profile figures leading the outcry about Khelif taking part in this summer’s Games at which the Algerian fighter won gold.
Now Khelif has filed a lawsuit to French authorities alleging ‘acts of aggravated cyber harassment’ – and the potential penalties at stake have now been revealed, as well as the prospect of yet more famous names being targeted.
The 25-year-old Olympian, who is not a transgender woman, allegedly has male ‘XY chromosomes’ which led to her disqualification from 2023 world championships.
At the time she failed unspecified gender eligibility tests administered by the now-banned International Boxing Association, with the International Olympic Committee instead taking charge of the boxing events at Paris 2024.
Her participation against women boxers at the Games led to protests from many, including Musk and Rowling as well as some of her defeated competitors – but also support from others who backed her right to fight.
Nabil Boudi, the gold medalist’s Paris-based attorney, has now told Variety Musk and Rowling were both named in the criminal complaint posted to the anti-online hatred center of the public prosecutor’s office last week.
Possible repercussions for cyber-bullying offences in France are prison sentences, ranging from two to five years, and fines between $26,000 and $39,000.
If prosecuted as online hate speech, perpetrators could even be fined $64,000 to $214,000.
Mr Boudi said Khelif filed the lawsuit as part of her ‘fight for justice, dignity and honour’.
It was issued against Musk’s social media network X, formerly named Twitter, which means it was filed against ‘unknown persons’ according to French Law.
The lawyer explained that it ensures that the ‘prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people,’ including those who shared hateful messages under pseudonyms.
‘J. K. Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,’ he wrote on X, noting that ex-US President Donald Trump would also be part of the investigation.
