30-year-old Kseniia Petrova, a Russian researcher at Harvard Medical School, is taking a racial and personal leap of faith to Massachusetts. This transfer follows a recent ruling by a Louisiana judge granting her favor. Since mid-February, Petrova has been held in immigration detention. Most recently, on May 14, she was moved to the Ouachita Correctional Center, a local parish jail in Louisiana.
Federal prosecutors had accused Petrova of a felony count of smuggling, after she purportedly smuggled non-living lab samples back from Paris. This single charge could carry as much as a 20-year prison sentence. The other option is a criminal conviction and a potential fine of up to $250,000. In a July 2021 hearing in Louisiana, Petrova was captured on camera, still in a tan jail jumpsuit.
Judge Kayla McClusky, the federal magistrate overseeing the case in Louisiana’s west district, ordered the transfer. Gregory Romanovsky, Petrova’s defense attorney, is optimistic. He’s confident federal officials will have her transferred to Massachusetts within the next few weeks.
At the same time, Petrova is continuing her fight against deportation back to Russia. She is scared of persecution for her actions protesting the current war in Ukraine. To try to fight her detention, she sued the Trump administration over her three-month-long detention. The suit was filed in Vermont federal district court.
A bail hearing is set for May 28, at which more should be known about Petrova’s fate. The hearing’s outcome will determine whether her legal standing is upheld or not. It could decide her future freedom as she works through the challenges of her case.
“It is an attempt by the government to justify its outrageous and legally indefensible position that this scientist working for the U.S. on cures for cancer and aging research has somehow become a danger to the community.”
A bail hearing is scheduled for May 28, where further developments regarding Petrova’s situation are anticipated. The outcome of the hearing may influence her legal standing and potential release as she continues to navigate the complexities of her case.
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