Harvard Scientist Charged With Smuggling Frog Embryos

A Russian scientist working at Harvard Medical School faces serious federal charges after allegedly smuggling frog embryo samples into the US and lying to customs officials—a case that is raising questions about how far the government will go in its pursuit of academics in the US who are not citizens. The researcher, Russian national Kseniia Petrova, was arrested on Feb. 16 after allegedly bringing the embryos from a Paris lab at the request of her Harvard supervisor. She spent more than three months in an ICE detention center, drawing criticism from some in the scientific community, who argue that the government's actions could discourage international academics. She was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston Wednesday, the New York Times reports.

Petrova, 31, had previously been charged with smuggling in May, the Guardian reports. She faces three new felony charges: smuggling goods into the US (carrying a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison or a $250,000 fine), concealment of material facts, and making false statements (each carrying possible sentences of up to five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000). She admits she did not declare the embryos, but her lawyer, William W. Fick, contends that this is typically a minor infraction, not a major criminal case. After her visa was canceled and deportation proceedings began, Petrova claimed she would face persecution if returned to Russia.

In May, a federal judge questioned the validity of the government's deportation case, but criminal charges were subsequently unsealed. Petrova, now released on bail in Massachusetts, maintains the samples—embryos in formaldehyde—should not trigger the smuggling statute, which is more commonly used for commercial goods. Prosecutors argue that failing to declare the samples and giving a false statement to customs meets the threshold for prosecution. Text messages between Petrova and her supervisor discussed how to bring the samples into the country, but her defense insists there was no criminal intent.