Russian scientist Kseniia Petrova indicted over frog embryo samples

In mid-May 2025, US federal prosecutors indicted Kseniia Petrova, a Russian researcher working at Harvard Medical School, on a charge of smuggling biological material into the United States. The indictment followed her detention at Boston's Logan airport in February, when she returned from a trip to France.

Customs and Border Protection officers said she had not declared frozen frog embryo samples in her luggage. Petrova, who studies cell biology and had been working in a Harvard laboratory, said the samples were meant for scientific research. Her visa was cancelled after the incident, and she was held in immigration detention, where she remained when the indictment was announced.

The case drew wide attention among researchers. Colleagues and academic groups argued that the matter was, at most, a paperwork issue and should not lead to a criminal charge or prolonged detention. Petrova has also said she feared persecution if sent back to Russia, after she had taken part in anti-war activity there. The indictment turned what had begun as a border dispute into a criminal prosecution and made her a symbol of wider concerns about the treatment of foreign scientists in the US.