Template:POTD/2008-07-23
Émile Zola's famous public letter "J'accuse" to the President of France Félix Faure in protest against the mishandling of the Dreyfus Affair, January 13, 1898. The letter accused the government of anti-Semitism and the unlawful jailing of Alfred Dreyfus, 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 the newspaper L'Aurore and caused a stir in France and abroad. For publishing this letter, Zola was prosecuted and found guilty of libel and he avoided punishment by fleeing to England. As a result of the popularity of the letter, even in the English-speaking world, J'accuse! has become a common generic expression of outrage and accusation against a powerful person.Author: Émile Zola