Judge takes step toward possible release of detained Russian Harvard scientist accused of smuggling

A national justice successful Vermont ruled successful favour of a Russian Harvard idiosyncratic who was detained by ICE and accused of smuggling goods into the U.S. connected Wednesday.

Kseniia Petrova, 31, was archetypal detained by ICE earlier being transferred to transgression custody earlier this month. Wednesday's ruling ensures that if she is granted bail and released astatine her transgression proceeding adjacent week, ICE cannot detain her erstwhile again.

President Donald Trump's medication is seeking to deport Petrova backmost to Russia pursuing her detention astatine Boston's Logan Airport successful February. She has worked arsenic a researcher astatine Harvard Medical School for much than 2 years, and colleagues astatine the schoolhouse testified successful her defence astatine Wednesday's hearing.

Authorities charged Petrova with smuggling biologic worldly aft TSA astatine the airdrome allegedly recovered clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples successful her luggage.

RUSSIAN SCIENTIST AT HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL DETAINED BY ICE AT BOSTON AIRPORT

This undated photograph provided by Polina Pugacheva successful April 2025 shows Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born idiosyncratic who was a researcher astatine Harvard University.  (Polina Pugacheva via AP, File)

The justice determined connected Wednesday that Petrova is not a formation hazard and does not airs immoderate information to the community. Her transgression bail proceeding is acceptable to instrumentality spot adjacent week successful Massachusetts.

The justice besides noted that Petrova's enactment astatine Harvard has benefited the U.S., arsenic her squad is focused connected crab research.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that Petrova allegedly denied having the biologic worldly astatine archetypal but aboriginal admitted to carrying it.

Prosecutors besides assertion that Petrova’s substance messages amusement that she was alert that she needed a licence to bring successful the clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples that were allegedly recovered successful her luggage. In 1 substance connection speech cited by the office, Petrova was asked whether she had a program to get the biologic worldly into the U.S., and she allegedly responded by saying, "No program yet. I won’t beryllium capable to swallow them."

Kseniia Petrova, a bioinformatician astatine the Kirschner Lab, was bringing backmost frog embryos astatine the petition of a prof astatine a French laboratory Harvard is collaborating with, her lawyer Gregory Romanovsky confirmed to Fox News. (Kseniia Petrova's lawyer Gregory Romanovsky)

Gregory Romanovsky, the lawyer representing Petrova, argues that customs experts confirmed that his lawsuit "did not request a licence to bring her non-living technological samples that are not considered biologic worldly nether U.S. Customs law."

Petrova said successful a caller New York Times op-ed that she was returning to the U.S. aft vacationing successful Paris erstwhile she was detained by ICE successful February. She besides expressed her fearfulness of being arrested successful Russia if deported, arsenic she has been a professional of the warfare successful Ukraine.

Kseniia Petrova, a bioinformatician astatine the Kirschner Lab, was bringing backmost frog embryos astatine the petition of a prof astatine a French laboratory Harvard is collaborating with. (Facebook)

While she admitted successful the op-ed to not filling retired a customs signifier regarding the frog embryos successful her luggage, she believed it would effect successful a good oregon warning, not an arrest.

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"At Logan International Airport, I did not implicit a customs declaration for frog embryos (for usage successful our lab’s research) successful my luggage. I’m told this would usually effect successful a informing oregon a fine. Instead, my visa was revoked, and I was sent to a detention halfway successful Louisiana," Petrova wrote.

Fox News' Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.