The key facts

  • A court in Massachusetts fully dismissed the criminal case against Ksenia Petrova
  • The indictment was dismissed without the possibility of refiling
  • Petrova was detained in Boston in February 2025 over a frog embryo in her luggage

Case fully dismissed

A federal court in Massachusetts has fully dismissed the criminal case against Russian researcher Ksenia Petrova, who works at Harvard. This was reported by Gazeta.Ru citing RIA Novosti. The court granted the motion of the US prosecution, and the indictment was dismissed without the possibility of being refiled.

How the case developed

Petrova was detained in February 2025 at Logan International Airport in Boston after returning from a trip to France. According to the prosecution, a frog embryo was found in her luggage. Petrova herself said she was carrying the sample at the request of her scientific supervisor for an experiment; the prosecution, however, insisted that it was a biomaterial whose import requires a permit and mandatory declaration. In June 2025, the jury charged her with smuggling biological materials and making false statements. The dismissal of the case in November 2026 marks a change from the previous situation: earlier, Petrova was under charges and the related restrictions, but now the charges have been dropped and cannot be brought again.