By Islam El-Sakka
Federal prosecutors have dropped all criminal charges against Russian researcher Kseniia Petrova, who was detained for four months after bringing frog embryos through Boston's Logan International Airport for cancer research at Harvard Medical School.
Charges dismissed
U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin dismissed the case on Wednesday without a hearing, granting a government motion filed by U.S. Attorney Leah Foley. Foley stated that the resource costs of continuing the prosecution outweighed the public interest, while maintaining that claims of vindictive prosecution were meritless.
Case background
Petrova, 31, was arrested in early 2025 upon returning from France, where she obtained research samples from a laboratory specializing in splicing superfine sections of frog embryos. Customs officials questioned her at Logan Airport and charged her with smuggling, concealing facts, and making false statements to federal officials. Petrova said she did not know she had to declare the samples and was not trying to sneak anything into the country.
The prosecution faltered in April after a federal judge ruled that a customs officer improperly canceled Petrova's visa. Her defense team argued the case was vindictive, noting such criminal prosecutions are rare. The Department of Homeland Security had defended her detention, alleging she lied to federal officers about the embryos.
Defense attorney Daniel Marx criticized the decision to prosecute, saying the Justice Department never should have brought the highly unusual smuggling case against a talented scientist. He emphasized that the frog embryos were inert, non-living, non-toxic, and posed no danger.
