A Harvard scientist from Russia has been arrested by ICE since February because he had not explained frog bryosen

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A Russian scientist on the Harvard Medical School was arrested by ICE in February after no frog bryos at customs.

According to an evidence of her lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, Kseniia Petrova has been a foreign scholar since May 2023 who has conducted biomedical research on a J-1 visa in Harvard.

When she returned from a visit abroad on February 16, a CBP officer (US Customs and Border Protection) on the Logan International Airport found that Petrova had not done the needed customs documents for a “non-harmful scientific sample” that she transported from a laboratory in France.

According to the US customs laws, CBP can confiscate the article and issue a positive, said Romanovsky. Instead, CBP canceled Petrova's visa and captured it.

Romanovsky said CBP transferred its custody to the US immigration and customs authority (ICE). Petrova is positioned within the prison in Richwood in Lousiana, 1,500 miles from her house in Boston and an immigration consultant.

“Instead of imposing the reasonable fines for the customs injury, CBP did not properly appoint its extensive immigration authority in order to convey a punishment for the situation,” said Romanovsky.

According to Romanovsky, Petrova's situation is “particularly bad” since the US government desires to deport it to Russia, where it affects the arrest as a consequence of her former political activism and her “pronounced opposition to the invasion of Russia in Ukraine in Russia”.

Romanovsky said that half of the detention was attributable to “considerable disorders” for his or her skilled and private life.

“As a committed and respected researcher, her work for scientific progress is of crucial importance,” he said.

Romanovsky asked ice to go away Petrova released while her legal proceedings were continued.

“We will continue to monitor this situation carefully and tirelessly stand up for the fair and fair treatment of Ms. Petrova,” he said.

A Harvard University spokesman confirmed that Petrova is a paid research assistant at Harvard Medical School and said: “We monitor this situation.”

A Gofundme Page set as much as support Petrova from her friends has collected over 40,000 US dollars.

In a message, Petrova's friends say that she is a “talented computer scientist” who “worked hard” and lived within the USA for over two years.

Your friends have arrange the fundraising campaign to pay the rent, food, supply firms and expected legal costs of Petrova while waiting for probation and requesting a brand new work visa.

Petrova's supervisor in Harvard, Leonid Peshkin, told the That it’s his fault that Petrova took up more rehearsals on vacation in France and tried to bring her back to Harvard.

Peshkin said that the frog bryo samples are used to look at how different genes are utilized in organisms.

After failed attempts to deliver the embryos, he asked Petrova to bring home after her trip.

“I made a mistake,” said Peshkin to The Globe. “I regret it very much.”