Harvard scientist accused of smuggling frog embryos indicted on new charges
BOSTON, - A Russian-born scientist at Harvard University accused of smuggling frog embryos into the United States was indicted on Wednesday on additional charges nearly two weeks after her lawyers secured her release from U.S. custody.
Federal prosecutors in Boston said a grand jury returned an indictment charging Kseniia Petrova, 30, with one count of concealment of a material fact, one count of false statement and one count of smuggling goods into the United States.
Prosecutors had charged her in May only with smuggling. The two new charges add to her criminal exposure and were filed after her lawyers last week urged a magistrate judge to dismiss the initial criminal complaint.
Petrova's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors secured the indictment after Petrova was granted bail on June 12. She had been detained for months after U.S. immigration authorities took her into custody on February 16 at the airport in Boston upon her return from a trip to France.
Her supporters said she was detained as part of the practice by President Donald Trump's administration of targeting international students and academics for visa revocations and detention as part of his hardline immigration agenda.
Prosecutors said U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stopped Petrova, who works at Harvard Medical School, after her checked duffle bag was flagged for inspection, revealing the frog embryos.
Petrova has said her boss asked her to bring back frog embryo samples for experiments. But prosecutors said the embryos constituted biological material that should have been declared to customs officials at the port of first arrival.
Prosecutors said that when she was approached by law enforcement, Petrova initially denied carrying any biological material in her baggage, and later claimed to be unsure she was required to declare the embryos when entering the United States.
But prosecutors said one of Petrova's colleagues had texted saying that she needed to make sure she got permission to bring samples back.
Petrova's visa was then canceled and immigration officials took her into custody with the intent of deporting her back to Russia, a prospect Petrova has said she feared after protesting Russia's war in Ukraine.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
5 hours ago
- India.com
US changes colour of fighter jet F-16 out of fear of..., why is US Air Force afraid of Russian stealth jet?
US changes colour of fighter jet F-16 out of fear of..., why is US Air Force afraid of Russian stealth jet? The US fighter jet F-16 has been changed to color of Russia's stealth fighter jet SU-57. The fighter plane F-16 which has been painted in the color of SU-57 was earlier in the Israeli Air Force. In fact, an F-16A fighter jet of US' private defense training company Top Aces has recently been seen in Arizona in a unique paint scheme, which is raising many questions. Where was the inspiration taken from? This new look given to the F-16 is inspired by the Russian fifth-generation fighter aircraft SU-57 Felon. Called 'Felon paint job', this design has a low-visibility, splinter-style gray camouflage pattern, which reflects the stealthy, angled and radar-evading design of the SU-57. The most special thing is that red stars have also been made in Soviet-style on the tail and wings of the F-16 aircraft. This F-16 has the tail number N871TA and the bort number is '284' red. It has previously served in the Israeli Air Force as 'Netz 284' and shot down a Syrian MiG-23 in 1981. Is US afraid of the Su-57 fighter jet? According to the Aviationist report, the two-tone scheme includes angular changes across the airframe, which mimics the radar-evading design of the T-50/Su-57. Earlier last year, another F-16 fighter jet from the Top Aces fleet was spotted in the 'Flanker Blue' color, inspired by the scheme used by some F-16s of the US Air Force's 64th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. In 2021, these aircraft were purchased from Israel by the US company Top Aces, which provides 'adversary training' for the US Air Force, i.e. training to fight against a simulated enemy.
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Time of India
Was Rolex founder a Nazi spy? Newly declassified British Intelligence files allege links to the Hitler regime
MI5, the security service responsible for protecting the UK against threats to national security, once suspected that Hans Wilsdorf , the German-born founder of the iconic Rolex luxury watch empire, held strong Nazi sympathies and possibly acted as a spy during the Second World War, according to the revelations made by secret British intelligence files. According to a Telegraph report, the declassified records termed Wilsdorf as 'most objectionable' and alleged that he may have used his position to spread propaganda for Adolf Hitler 's regime. The documents are held at the National Archives. They were written between 1941 and 1943, and many were stamped with 'Box 500.' It was a wartime nickname for MI5's headquarters, highlighting fears among British authorities that Wilsdorf posed a security risk despite being a naturalized British citizen. Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass Batch-1 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 2 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 3 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals By Vaibhav Sisinity View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 4 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program Hans Wilsdorf: Personal life and Nazi allegations Wilsdorf was born in Bavaria in 1881. He began making watches in Hatton Garden after moving to London in 1903. Later, he founded Rolex. He married Florence Crotty, a British woman, and then moved the company's headquarters to Geneva in 1919. According to The Telegraph, British officials had become increasingly wary of Wilsdorf's loyalties by the early 1940s. Live Events According to a 1941 report from the British consul in Geneva, he was 'well known for his strong Nazi sympathies.' The report also emphasized that his brother, Karl, was working in Joseph Goebbels' propaganda ministry. Swiss federal police were already surveilling Wilsdorf due to concerns he might be spreading Nazi propaganda globally. A 1943 MI5 report revealed that the agency monitored Rolex's British operations in Bexleyheath and suspected Wilsdorf of 'espionage on behalf of the enemy.' The documents frequently described him as 'well known' for his political sympathies toward the Nazi regime. Rolex acknowledges the archive file The documents have been acknowledged by the Swiss watchmaker, stating that it is taking the allegations seriously. Speaking to the Telegraph, a company spokesperson said that an independent review is underway, led by Swiss historian Dr. Marc Perrenoud, who specializes in Switzerland's role during World War II. Perrenoud has assembled a committee of historians from multiple countries to assist with the research. 'In the interest of transparency, we will publish Dr. Perrenoud's findings once he has completed his work,' the spokesperson told The Telegraph. M15's report throws light on Wilsdorf's wartime gestures The M15 report also raised questions about the true motive behind one of Wilsdorf's most celebrated wartime gestures: sending free Rolex watches to British prisoners of war during World War II. After German officers seized watches from captured servicemen, Cpl. Clive Nutting, held at the notorious Stalag Luft III camp in Poland in 1940, wrote to Wilsdorf requesting replacements. Wilsdorf agreed and told Nutting not to worry about payment until after the war, also sending food parcels and tobacco to some prisoners. While this act helped boost Rolex's public image, British officials at the time questioned whether it was genuine kindness or a calculated effort to gain favor. What did Jose Pereztroika, who discovered the MI5 file, say about the documents Jose Pereztroika, a historian of watchmaking who discovered the MI5 file and reached out to the Telegraph, believes the evidence supports the view that Wilsdorf sympathized with the Nazis. He argued that the company's gifts to Allied prisoners might be 'a stunt to gain favor with the British government' at a time when Swiss watch imports to the UK were largely banned. By 1943, MI5 decided against blacklisting Wilsdorf due to a lack of evidence suggesting harmful activity by the Swiss company. The agency, however, maintained he was 'most objectionable.'
Economic Times
19 hours ago
- Economic Times
'In the first 2 minutes, I'll know…': Trump says he will 'feel out' Putin on ending Ukraine war
US President Donald Trump said Monday that he expected to determine mere moments into his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week whether it would be possible to work out a deal to halt the war in Ukraine. 'At the end of that meeting, probably the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,' Trump said at a White House press conference that he called to announce plans for a federal takeover of Washington's police force to help combat crime. He said he thought Friday's sitdown with Putin in Alaska would be "really a feel-out meeting." Trump added that 'it'll be good, but it might be bad' and predicted he may say, "lots of luck, keep fighting. Or I may say, we can make a deal.' Show more 08:29 13:09 03:43 08:47 08:32 03:39 10:05 08:54 08:07 08:10 03:15 08:02 23:22 05:05 03:33 04:07 01:48 37:32 08:26 10:00 03:48 08:50 10:03 13:39 03:38 03:29 09:03 03:04 08:25 09:34 01:31
