By Salma El-Sakka
A federal judge in Massachusetts dismissed criminal charges against Russian-born Harvard biomedical researcher Kseniia Petrova, who was accused of smuggling frog embryos into the United States.
District Judge Leo T. Sorokin issued the order Wednesday, a day after federal prosecutors filed a petition to drop the charges. Prosecutors said they moved to dismiss after a magistrate judge in April allowed Petrova to obtain evidence for her claim of vindictive prosecution. They argued that providing counter-evidence would require disclosing non-public information about Customs and Border Protection operations.
Petrova's attorney, Daniel N. Marx, said the Department of Justice should never have brought the "highly unusual" smuggling prosecution against a scientist whose work on aging could benefit everyone. He stated that the frog embryos were inert, non-living, non-toxic, and never posed any danger.
Petrova was detained at Boston's Logan Airport in February 2025 upon returning from Paris. Her J-1 scholar visa was canceled, and she was placed in immigration proceedings. A Vermont judge earlier this year ruled the visa cancellation was unlawful.
In May 2025, prosecutors charged Petrova with smuggling after officers found clawed frog embryos, paraffin slides, and other research samples in her possession. Two federal judges found the circumstances suspicious and warranted investigation into whether the Department of Homeland Security and the DOJ unfairly targeted her. While that question remains unanswered, the criminal case has now been dismissed.
