Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell filed an amicus brief in support of Harvard Medical School researcher #Kseniia #Petrova,
calling for her immediate release from a Louisiana detention facility.

The brief — filed on Monday in a Vermont District Court — condemned the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to detain Petrova.

Customs and Border Patrol officials arrested the Russian-born cancer researcher in February, after she allegedly failed to declare frog embryos at the Boston Logan International Airport.
In the brief, Campbell wrote that Petrova is “stuck in a nightmare of a situation.”

“Her visa was cancelled unlawfully,
she was denied admission to the United States based on the unlawful cancellation of that visa,
and she is incarcerated in Louisiana seemingly indefinitely based on an expedited removal order that was never signed,” the brief read.

“This situation is unjustifiable and unlawful.”

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/5/14/campbell-amicus-brief-petrova/

A Russian-born scientist and research associate at Harvard University
-- who has been held for months in an immigration detention center in Louisiana
-- has been criminally charged with attempting to smuggle frog embryos into the United States.

Federal prosecutors in Boston announced the smuggling charge against
#Kseniia #Petrova, 31,
hours after a federal judge in Vermont heard arguments in a lawsuit she filed alleging that the Trump administration has been unlawfully detaining her.

Petrova's lawyer claims the charges are meritless, and questions the timing of criminal custody

Prior to the criminal case being unsealed, the government had indicated it planned to deport her back to Russia,
despite Petrova stating she feared going back to country or origin after protesting Russia's war in Ukraine.

She was detained at Logan International Airport in Boston on February 16 after a trip to Paris.

Petrova, who worked at Harvard Medical School, has said her boss asked her to bring back frog embryo samples for ongoing experiments.

Federal prosecutors said that upon her arrival, Petrova was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents after her checked duffle bag was flagged for inspection,
revealing biological material.

Such biological products must be declared and require a permit to be brought into the country.

Prosecutors said that Petrova initially denied carrying any biological material in her baggage
before admitting she had biological specimens.

Her visa was then canceled and she was taken into custody by immigration officials

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/detained-russian-born-harvard-scientist-criminally-charged-with-smuggling-2025-05-14/

https://www.europesays.com/1987395/ She Worked in a Harvard Lab to Reverse Aging, Until ICE Jailed Her #AudioNeutralInformative #BorderPatrol(US) #CollegesAndUniversities #ContentType:PersonalProfile #deportation #DonaldJ #ForeignWorkers #GeneticEngineering #HarvardMedicalSchool #HarvardUniversity #ImmigrationAndCustomsEnforcement(US) #ImmigrationAndEmigration #ImmigrationDetention #Kseniia(Scientist) #Petrova #research #Russia #ScienceAndTechnology #trump #Ukraine #UnitedStatesPoliticsAndGovernment

Harvard scientist who opposed Ukraine war faces deportation back to Russia, friends say
#Kseniia #Petrova has been in U.S. detention since mid-February after having her visa revoked, according to friends and independent Russian media
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/harvard-scientist-russia-deportation-antiwar-b2723063.html

So, they are also coming for pro #Ukraine / #AntiRussia students and professors. Evidence that #Trump is SUCKING UP to #Putin! WHERE WILL IT END?! #RESIST!

#KseniyaPetrova, Russian scientist from Harvard Medical School detained in U.S., faces deportation and likely arrest upon return due to #AntiWar stance

The Insider
27 March 2025

"A Russian scientist working at Harvard Medical School has been detained in the United States and placed in immigration detention. According to multiple independent Russian media outlets and the scientist’s friends, she now faces possible deportation to Russia, where she could be subject to political persecution over her anti-war stance.

"The news of her detention was shared on Facebook by her friend and colleague Cora Anderson. Friends of the scientist also launched a GoFundMe campaign, which has already raised over $14,000 to support her legal and living expenses.
'#Kseniia is in danger,' a person familiar with the case told the Telegram channel Mozhem Obyasnit’ (lit. “We Can Explain”).

"Kseniia, a Russian bioinformatics researcher, arrived in Boston from the #RepublicOfGeorgia in the spring of 2023 to work at Harvard Medical School. She had been compelled to leave Russia due to her outspoken anti-war stance, which could have led to criminal charges back home. While her surname was not disclosed in the original posts, Mozhem Obyasnit’ was able to locate her Facebook page, suggesting her name is Kseniya (Kseniia) Petrova, a graduate of MIPT (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology). Her page includes multiple posts criticizing the Russian government and denouncing the invasion of Ukraine. Petrova's page on Linkedin listed her as an associate researcher at Harvard Medical School working in Dr. Marc Kirschner's lab in the Department of Systems Biology.

"On Feb. 16, after returning from a trip to France, she was detained at Boston Logan International Airport, where her visa was revoked. When Kseniia stated that she feared persecution if she were to return to Russia, she was transferred to immigration detention, first in Vermont, then in Louisiana. She is now being held in an ICE detention facility, in a room shared with 80 other women. The exact reason for the cancellation of her visa has not been disclosed by her friends."

Read more:
https://theins.ru/en/news/280037
#Resistance #ResistAuthoritarianism #ResistDOGE #TrumpIsABully #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #FreeUkraine #FreePalestine #FuckOligarchs #USPol #WorldPol