Judge orders release of Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos

Kseniia Petrova, a Harvard University researcher from Russia, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and later charged with smuggling frog embryos into the United States. Picture / File

A judge has ordered the release of Kseniia Petrova, a Harvard University researcher from Russia who spent months in federal custody after she was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and later charged with smuggling frog embryos into the United States.

At a hearing in Boston, Magistrate Judge Judith Dein ordered Petrova to be released on bail.

She must return next week for a hearing on the smuggling charge, according to court records.

If convicted on the smuggling charge, Petrova faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

It is unlike other high-profile cases of academics and students who have been detained in recent months, including some who have been accused of opposing Israel’s war in Gaza or United States support for Israel.

Petrova was detained in February after failing to tell customs agents at Boston Logan International Airport that she was carrying frog embryos for scientific work.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said earlier this year that Petrova lied to federal officers about “carrying biological substances into the country”.

A search later found “uncovered undeclared petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without proper permits”, the spokesperson said.

After taking Petrova into custody, authorities revoked her visa and held her in a Louisiana detention centre.

Petrova, who arrived at Harvard in 2023 from Europe, had previously been arrested for speaking out against the war in Ukraine and criticising Russian President Vladimir Putin online.

Her lawyer, and advocates, feared she would face imprisonment in Russia if she were deported.

The usual consequence of such a customs violation is forfeiture of the identified item, a fine of up to $500 or both, her lawyer Gregory Romanovsky said in March, saying the officers had “no legal basis” for revoking her J1 visa over this violation.

The visa category allows foreign nationals to come to the US for study, teaching, research or related purposes.

Federal prosecutors charged Petrova with smuggling in May as lawyers pushed for her release from ICE custody.

Colleagues at Harvard sent over two dozen letters of support for her and said she was a hardworking researcher who unreasonably faced immigration penalties for her customs case.

Her work on cell development aids cancer research, scientist Martin Chalfie said in a letter of support.

- Emily Wax-Thibodeaux and Maria Sacchetti contributed to this report.