J'Accuse...!

J'accuse ("I accuse") is an open letter published on January 13, 1898 in the newspaper "L'Aurore" by Émile Zola.

The letter was addressed to French president Félix Faure and accused French government in anti-Semitism and unlawful jailing of Alfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus was a French General Staff officer sentenced for espionage to penal servitude for life. Zola pointed at biliousness of court martial and lack of serious evidences. The letter was printed on the first page of newspaper and caused stir in France and aboard. Zola was prosecuted and found guilty for libel on February 23, 1898. To avoid imprisonment he fled to England and returned home in June 1899.

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