Academic Charged in Embryo Smuggling Case

A Russian-born Harvard researcher, Kseniia Petrova, faces charges of attempting to smuggle frog embryo samples into the U.S. She has been detained in Louisiana, and filed a lawsuit alleging unlawful detention under the Trump administration. Federal prosecutors in Boston announced the charges.

A Russian-born researcher at Harvard University is facing criminal charges for allegedly attempting to smuggle frog embryo samples into the United States. The academic has been held in an immigration detention center in Louisiana for several weeks.

Federal prosecutors in Boston formally announced the smuggling charge against 31-year-old Kseniia Petrova shortly after a federal judge in Vermont listened to arguments for a lawsuit she filed. The lawsuit contends that the Trump administration has been unlawfully detaining her.

Petrova's case adds to growing tensions over immigration policies and their impact on academia, with new legal developments expected to arise as the situation unfolds.

(With inputs from agencies.)