Federal judge orders transfer of Harvard scientist to Massachusetts to face smuggling charge

Boston Globe

15-05-2025

The criminal charge marks a significant escalation of a case that has troubled many in the scientific community, both in Massachusetts and around the world, and has sent a chill through the closeknit group of scientists who worked at her Harvard Medical School laboratory. The charge of smuggling goods into the United States carries
On Thursday, Petrova made her first court appearance in the criminal case. She was seated in an office chair in a blank room during a livestreamed Zoom hearing. Wearing a brown khaki shirt over a white t-shirt, Petrova mostly stared straight ahead and occasionally hunched over in her chair as Magistrate Judge Kayla McClusky for the Western District of Louisiana read the criminal charge and an affidavit against her. When asked if she understood the charge, Petrova sat up in her seat and declared, loudly, 'Yes, innocent!'
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According to a criminal complaint, Petrova initially denied carrying any biological material when she arrived at Boston's Logan Airport on Feb. 16. When a Customs and Border Protection agent asked her again, Petrova identified a plastic bag. An inspection of the bag revealed that it contained a foam box with frog embryos as well as embryo slides. When asked if she knew that she was supposed to declare biological material, Petrova said she was not sure, according to the complaint.
When a customs officer reviewed Petrova's phone, they found a text message from a colleague at Harvard Medical School urging Petrova to 'get permission' if she brought any samples into the United States. In another text message, a colleague asked Petrova what her plan was for getting the samples through customs. Petrova allegedly replied via text, 'No plan yet. I won't be able to swallow them.'
A specialist in bionformatics, Petrova described her work at the Harvard Medical School laboratory as her 'dream job,' in
Petrova was part of a team investigating how to extend the human life span by investigating how cells rejuvenate themselves. She and others in her laboratory also used a high-powered microscope to measure lipids, or types of fat in the body, which can be used to understand cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic ailments. 'There is so much beauty in what we can learn through science, in how complicated life is, and in trying to understand how it works,' Petrova wrote in her essay.
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Leon Peshkin, a principal research scientist in Harvard Medical School's department of systems biology and Petrova's laboratory supervisor, said much of the work at the laboratory has stalled or ground to a halt since her detention. 'Some of the important things that [Petrova] does could be done by other people, but only much slower,' Peshkin said. 'She is irreplaceable.'
Petrova has been public about her opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has said she fears being arrested if she is sent back there. On Feb. 24, 2022, when Putin sent columns of Russian tanks into Ukraine, Petrova joined protests in Moscow's streets. On March 2, she was arrested, charged with an administrative violation, fined and released,
Gregory Romanovsky, an attorney for Petrova, said in a written statement that Petrova did not need a permit to bring 'non-living scientific samples' into the United States. He said the smuggling charge is an attempt by the Trump administration 'to justify its outrageous and legally indefensible position that this scientist working for the U.S. on cures for cancer and aging research has somehow become a danger to the community. The government confirmed in court yesterday its intent to deport Kseniia to Russia, where it knows she will face grave danger for opposing the Putin regime.'
Romanovsky said he expect federal authorities to transfer Petrova to Massachusetts in the next few weeks. Petrova had requested the transfer.
Brian Taylor, a professor of political science at Syracuse University who specializes in Russian politics, said it would be 'very bad' for federal authorities to send Petrova back to Russia given her history of opposing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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'She has a legitimate fear of being arrested and sent to jail,' Taylor said. 'Even if they did want to deport her, why they would say they intend to return her to Russia as opposed to allow her to leave for some other third country? … It just seems deliberately cruel."
Chris Serres can be reached at