The heads of Russia"s leading media outlets...
A Moscow court found RIA Novosti photo correspondent Andrei Stenin guilty of taking part in an unsanctioned protest in front of the presidential administration building in December and fined him 500 rubles (about $17).
The state-run agency called the decision "unjust" in a statement earlier on Wednesday and confirmed the journalist had been assigned to cover the event.
The ruling has stirred a wave of criticism in the Russian media community, with the chief editors of some 20 major newspapers, agencies, TV and radio stations signing the letter to Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev.
The letter said the journalistic community is alarmed the incident that may set a precedent for prosecuting journalists "while they perform their professional duty" in Russia.
"The incident with Stenin creates a situation when we have to send our correspondents on assignments putting them under the threat of prosecution by law enforcement bodies," the letter said.