Federal Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston granted a motion on November 4 by US prosecutors to dismiss the criminal case against Harvard University researcher Ksenia Petrova. The judge issued the order without a separate hearing. Prosecutors had filed their motion a day earlier, on November 3.
Petrova had faced charges of smuggling, concealing a material fact and making false statements after bringing frog embryos from France into the United States for cancer research. The court dismissed all the counts. The dismissal is not an acquittal following a trial on the merits.
Petrova’s lawyers argued that the criminal prosecution was retaliation for her attempts to challenge immigration authorities. Prosecutors rejected allegations of selective prosecution but said complying with court orders to disclose evidence would consume resources better directed to other priorities. The dismissal did not amount to a finding that the prosecution was retaliatory.
In separate proceedings, Petrova had challenged actions affecting her immigration status. A court had previously found a customs officer's decision to revoke her visa in April 2026 improper. That immigration dispute is distinct from the dismissed criminal case.