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Russian Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova speaks to Meduza after U.S. prosecutors drop smuggling charges over undeclared frog embryos
Kseniia Petrova, a Russian biologist at Harvard Medical School, says US prosecutors have dropped all charges against her over undeclared frog embryos she brought into the country for research. A court dismissed the case on 4 November after prosecutors said they had other priorities and limited resources, ending a prosecution that drew criticism from scientists.
Petrova was detained in February 2025 after returning from France and faced a possible 20-year sentence, though she said she and her lawyers did not expect her to receive prison time. She believes a court ruling that questioned whether the prosecution was vindictive may have influenced the decision to drop the case. Petrova, who opposes Russia’s war on Ukraine, is seeking political asylum in the United States and says she wants to remain there with her laboratory and work.
In short
- US prosecutors dropped all charges against Kseniia Petrova.
- The case concerned frog embryos brought in for research.
- Petrova is seeking asylum and plans to remain in the US.
Explained simply
Harvard Medical School is part of Harvard University and trains doctors while supporting medical research. Biologists there study living things, including how embryos develop; frog embryos are often used in laboratory research because they can help scientists examine early development.
Kseniia Petrova is a Russian biologist who worked at Harvard and says she opposes Russia’s war on Ukraine. She has also applied for political asylum in the United States, a process through which someone asks to stay because they fear returning to their home country.
The case raised questions about how US rules on declaring items at the border apply to scientific materials, and about the effect of criminal prosecutions on research. Scientists criticised the prosecution, while the legal process also drew attention to the circumstances of Petrova’s asylum request.