US drops smuggling case against Harvard scientist over frog embryos
What's new: Prosecutors moved to dismiss after a judge let Kseniia Petrova seek records for her selective-prosecution claim.
Federal prosecutors in Boston moved Nov. 2 to drop criminal charges against Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born biomedical researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos into the United States. The filing came after a judge allowed Petrova to seek government records to support her claim that she was singled out for prosecution. Prosecutors called that claim meritless but said pursuing the case after the order would pull resources from more substantial federal interests. Petrova was detained at Boston's airport in February 2025 after returning from France, and prosecutors later charged her with smuggling and making false statements. She pleaded not guilty and said her boss had asked her to bring back the samples for experiments.