JK Rowling and Elon Musk are both named in a criminal complaint filed with French authorities for alleged “acts of serious cyber harassment” against Algerian boxer and newly crowned Olympic champion Imane Khelif.

Nabil Boudi, Khelif’s Paris-based lawyer, confirmed to diversity that both people were mentioned in the main body of the complaint filed on Friday with the Paris prosecutor’s office’s Center for Combating Online Hate.

The lawsuit was filed against X, which under French law means it was filed against unknown persons. This “ensures that the public prosecutor has all the freedom to investigate all people,” including those who may have written hateful messages under pseudonyms, Boudi said. The complaint nonetheless mentions notoriously controversial figures.

“Among others, JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit,” he said, adding that Donald Trump will be part of the investigation. “Trump tweeted, so whether he is named in our lawsuit or not, he will inevitably be investigated as part of the prosecution.”

Khelif, who won the Olympic gold medal in the women’s 66 kilograms boxing event on Saturday, spent much of the 2024 Paris Olympics at the centre of a loud and uncomfortable dispute over her gender identity that has resonated around the world. Despite being born a woman and identifying as neither transgender nor intersex – and supported by the International Olympic Committee, which claimed “scientifically, this is not a fight between a man and a woman” – Khelif faced a barrage of accusations and abuse over her gender.

Most of the attacks came via social media, particularly X/Twitter, and the controversy escalated when prominent figures entered the fray. In a message to her 14.2 million followers, Rowling posted a picture of Khelif’s fight with Italian boxer Angela Carini, accusing the former of being a man who “enjoys the suffering of a woman he just punched in the head.” Musk, meanwhile, shared a post by swimmer Riley Gaines claiming “men don’t belong in women’s sports.” The X owner captioned the message, adding, “Absolutely.” Trump posted a message with a picture of the fight with Carina and the message, “I will keep men out of women’s sports!”

Boudi said that although the indictment names names, “we demand that the prosecution investigate not only these people, but all those they deem necessary. If the case goes to court, they will be brought to justice.”

Boudi also claimed that although the lawsuit was filed in France, “it could be directed against personalities abroad,” pointing out that “the public prosecutor’s office for combating hate speech online has the possibility of sending requests for legal assistance to other countries.” He added that there are agreements with the US equivalent of the French authority for combating hate speech online.

Logan Paul was also among those who attacked Khelif on social media. After her victory against Carini, he posted on X: “This is the purest form of evil unfolding right before our eyes. A man was allowed to beat up a woman on the world stage and destroy her life’s dream while fighting for her late father. This madness must end.”

Paul later deleted the post and admitted that he “may have been guilty of spreading misinformation.”

But for Bouli, such apologies – including those Khelif received personally from prominent figures who tweeted derogatory comments – would not change the investigation. “The lawsuit has been filed and the facts remain,” he said.

As for X, Boudi said the complaint was directed at the authors of the social media posts and not the platforms themselves. “It is the responsibility of legislators to impose sanctions on platforms, not ours,” he said. He noted, however, that cases of cyber harassment are now being taken much more seriously by judicial authorities and that in some cases there are “prison sentences.”

Khelif’s coach Pedro Diaz said diversity that the harassment Khelif endured during her participation in the Olympic Games “had an incredible impact on her and everyone around her.”

“The first time she fought at the Olympics, there was this crazy storm outside the ring,” said Diaz, who runs the Miami-based Mundo Boxing Gym and began training with Khelif in February 2023. “I’ve never seen anything so disgusting in my life,” added the coach, who had participated in the training of 21 Olympic champions before the Algerian boxer. Diaz said he asked Khelif not to look at social media so she “wouldn’t lose her focus on winning the gold medal.”

“She is so smart and incredibly motivated,” he said, adding that her winning the gold medal “felt like the most beautiful victory of my career as a coach.”