J'accuse ("I accuse") was an open letter published on January 13, 1898 in the newspaper "L'Aurore" by the influential writer Émile Zola.
The letter was addressed to French president Félix Faure and accused the French government of anti-Semitism and the unlawful jailing of Alfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus was a French General Staff officer sentenced for espionage to penal servitude for life. Zola pointed out judicial errors and lack of serious evidence. The letter was printed on the first page of newspaper and caused a stir in France and abroad. Zola was prosecuted and found guilty of libel on February 23, 1898. To avoid imprisonment he fled to England and returned home in June 1899.
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