US judge orders release of Russian scientist from immigration detention center

WASHINGTON (AA) - A federal judge said Wednesday she would grant bail to Kseniia Petrova, a Russian scientist at Harvard University, who has been held in immigration detention for more than three months, according to reports.

Chief Judge Christina Reiss of the US District Court in the state of Vermont said there appeared to be no “factual or legal basis” for immigration officers to cancel Petrova’s visa on Feb. 16, according to the New York Times.

She also warned that Petrova’s “life and well-being are in peril” if deported to Russia, where she had previously been arrested for protesting the war in Ukraine, it reported.

Petrova, 31, had legally traveled to France on a valid US work visa. At the request of her supervisor, Leon Peshkin, she brought back frog embryo samples for lab research at Harvard but failed to properly declare them, prompting further scrutiny by customs officers.

Although the typical penalty for the infraction usually results in a fine, immigration officials denied Petrova re-entry and placed her in detention, said Peshkin.

Petrova fled Russia following her arrest for anti-war protests and initially relocated to Georgia before eventually moving to the US to continue her academic work.