Ksenia Petrova, a Russian scientist jailed after trying to smuggle frog embryos into the United States, has had her charges dropped. Here's what she says about the conclusion.
Petrova, a biologist at Harvard Medical School, was arrested in February 2025 when she returned to the United States from a business trip in France. She was charged with smuggling for trying to smuggle frog embryos into the country for research - and sent to federal prison. Petrova's case received a lot of attention, and the scientific community was outraged.
On November 4, the court canceled the case against the scientist after the prosecution dropped its charges "due to the evaluation of the department's priorities and resources." Now Ksenia Petrova is seeking political asylum in the United States - in Russia she openly opposed the war. Medusa talked to her about her case and how it affected her academic life.