On November 3, 2026, the U.S. Attorney in Boston dismissed all criminal charges against Fick & Marx client Kseniia Petrova in the wake of court orders on discovery motions by Fick & Marx that would have forced the government to produce evidence in support of her vindictive prosecution claim.
“Throughout these proceedings, Ms. Petrova has shown tremendous courage, and we are relieved that this chapter of her terrible ordeal will soon be over,” said her attorney, William Fick
“Ms. Petrova only sought to advance medical research into aging that could benefit everyone, and her handling of scientific samples – inert, non-living, non-toxic, frog embryos – never posed any danger to anyone,” Fick explained.
Ms. Petrova, a 30-year-old Russian national and bioinformatics researcher at Harvard Medical School, returned to Logan Airport on February 16, 2025, after traveling in Europe. When U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) officials discovered scientific research samples in her luggage—comprised of inert (non-living), non-toxic, formalin-fixed embryonic frog cells—CBP unlawfully cancelled her visa, declared her inadmissible, and sent her into a months-long ordeal of cross-country transportation and detention.
She filed a habeas petition in the District of Vermont (the “habeas court”) against the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and other respondents. Her unlawful detention and related litigation attracted international media attention.
Months later, as she achieved incremental success in her habeas case and appeared likely to be released on bond, DHS headquarters ordered a criminal investigation. Federal prosecutors quickly brought criminal charges, transferred Ms. Petrova to U.S. Marshals custody, refused to agree to conditions of release until she had spent additional weeks in custodial transportation from Louisiana to this Court for a detention hearing, and then, shortly after her arrival in Massachusetts, offered to drop all criminal charges if she would abandon her habeas petition and self-deport (she declined).
In these circumstances, two federal judges in Boston found that Ms. Petrova had satisfied her burden to present at least “some evidence” of vindictiveness that would warrant further discovery.
Rather than produce that potentially embarrassing discovery, the U.S. Attorney dismissed the case.
“While important questions remain unanswered, we are pleased that the DOJ has finally reached the appropriate conclusion and dismissed all criminal charges against Ms. Petrova,” said Fick.
The New York Times, the Boston Globe, and Law360 all covered the dismissal.
Fick: “The DOJ never should have brought this highly unusual ‘smuggling’ prosecution.”