Russian Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova 'knowingly' smuggled illicit items to US: feds
Share and Follow

Federal authorities said Harvard’s Kseniia Petrova “knowingly broke the law” amid their ongoing push to deport the Russian scientist.

Petrova, a bioinformatician at the Kirschner Lab at Harvard Medical School, was detained at Boston Logan International Airport on Feb. 16 as she returned from a trip to Paris.

Her attorney, Gregory Romanovsky, told Fox News that Petrova was bringing back frog embryos at the request of a professor at a French lab with which the Ivy League university was collaborating. According to Romanovsky, the sample was picked up in Paris and was supposed to be brought to Harvard and that Petrova was unaware she needed to claim them at customs.

“The individual was lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wrote in a post on X on Tuesday. “A subsequent K9 inspection uncovered undeclared petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without proper permits.”

Kseniia Petrova

Kseniia Petrova, a Russian scientist working at Harvard Medical School, was detained at Boston Logan International Airport on Feb. 16 as she was returning from a trip to Paris. (Attorney Gregory Romanovsky)

The feds said messages found on the 30-year-old’s phone revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them. 

“She knowingly broke the law and took deliberate steps to evade it,” DHS alleged. 

Petrova’s attorney has pushed back on that narrative, saying that failing to declare an object at customs is not enough grounds to cancel her visa. Rather, officials should have imposed a fine and seized the object, he said.

“CBP was authorized to seize the item and issue a fine,” he said. “Instead, they chose to cancel Ms. Petrova’s visa and detain her.”

Petrova is being held at the Richwood Detention Facility in Louisiana and has an immigration court hearing scheduled for May 7 in Jena, Louisiana, related to her asylum case.

Kseniia Petrova

Kseniia Petrova is currently being held at the Richwood Detention Facility in Louisiana. (Facebook)

Her attorney was also challenging CBP’s actions at the airport: the visa cancellation. A federal court hearing was scheduled in that case for June 9 in the District of Vermont, but the plan was to ask them to expedite the hearing.

“ICE is required to detain individuals … only if they are a flight risk or a danger to the community. Ms. Petrova is neither,” Romanovsky said. “Her continued detention serves no purpose and wastes limited government resources.”

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
Daughter of Irish man beaten to death by American wife, her ex-FBI agent father rejects self-defense claims

Daughter of Irish man beaten to death by American wife, her ex-FBI agent father rejects self-defense claims

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A new documentary raises…
Top West Bank leaders propose leaving Palestinian Authority, recognizing the state of Israel: letter

Key West Bank Officials suggest withdrawing support from Palestinian Authority and acknowledging Israel as a state: communication

A team of five prominent Palestinian officials from the Hebron region in…
Wife defends husband as he learns fate on child pornography charges

Wife supports husband facing consequences for child pornography accusations

A famous influencer who shares beautiful moments from her travels with her…
Two-time cancer survivor running first half marathon

Get a sneak peek: Onyx Collective announces premiere date of season 3 “Reasonable Doubt” on Hulu, shares first-look photos

Court is in session! Onyx Collective’s hit legal drama, “Reasonable Doubt,” is…
'What I lost isn't coming back': Woman reflects on one year since shark attack

Reflecting on a year after a shark attack: Accepting what has been lost

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (KVEO) On July 4, 2024, Tabatha Sullivent was…
Ozempic changed my life, but my husband said the words all women fear

How Ozempic Improved My Life, But My Husband Uttered the Words Every Woman Dreads

Dear Jane, I’m in my early 30s, and after years of struggling…
Texas dad hailed a hero after injury while saving family from flood

Heroic Texas Father Injured While Rescuing Family from Flood Recieves Praise

The family of a Texas father who died while rescuing his loved…
Bodies of all 7 missing found at a California fireworks warehouse that exploded

7 missing individuals located at California fireworks warehouse explosion site

ESPARTO, Calif. (AP) Authorities in Northern California have found the bodies of…