Khaberni - The young gymnast Jana Laroui has decided to file a formal complaint after being subjected to a wave of insults and bullying on social media.
Comments of a demeaning and defamatory nature flooded social media against Laroui (21 years old) after she announced leaving the French team to represent Algeria.
After 10 years of representing France in various age groups, Laroui decided to join the Algerian gymnastics team, which ignited a wave of "online bullying" against her as described by the French network "RMC Sport".
Laroui posted on her official Instagram account a lengthy message, the essence of which was "This idea has always been on my mind. I knew I would change my sporting nationality one day but I did not know when it would happen. Today, the opportunity arose and I decided to seize it."
Offensive Comments
It seems that this decision did not sit well with many in France who decided to attack the athlete with harsh comments like "opportunistic decision", "traitor", "hypocrite", "We've never seen anyone without dignity to this extent".
The next day, lawyer Nabil Boudi announced that Laroui had enlisted his services in order to file a criminal complaint against her abusers.
He stated in a statement: "Since her last decision, Ms. Laroui has been subjected to a large number of messages, posts, and comments of a demeaning, defamatory, and frightening nature on social media. These repeated and widespread actions go beyond the scope of sports criticism and seriously affect her dignity"
He added: "Jana Laroui has tasked me with pursuing all the individuals who participated in this hate campaign. My client, a high-level athlete, assures that her decision was personal"
The Career of Jana Laroui
In her sports career, Laroui, born on January 15, 2005, in Lyon to Algerian parents, won the European bronze medal in Leipzig last year in the team events and was crowned French champion in singles in 2023.
She also won the bronze medal at the World Championship in Antwerp (2023), and a year before that, she won the silver medal with France during the Mediterranean Games held in Algeria.
Laroui was suspended in 2024 for 6 months on the grounds of her involvement in a doping case due to a "dosage error when using the drug Ventolin", just 5 days before the start of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, which prevented her from participating in it.
After months of legal dispute, the French Agency for the Fight Against Doping concluded that it was simply an unintentional dosing error.
