Alexei Navalny was murdered 'with a punch to the heart', according to Russian activist

Vladimir Osechkin, Russian human rights activist and founder of the Gulagu.net group, said in an interview this Wednesday with the British media The Times that The bruises found on the body of the deceased Russian opponent Alexei Navalny were consistent with a “one-hit” technique.

(In context: Details of Navalny's death: 'He felt bad after walking and lost consciousness')

The top leader of the Russian opposition died last Friday in an Arctic prison where he was serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges. His death caused outrage in the world and several governments, including the United States, They claim that it was a direct order from President Vladimir Putin.

In the interview, Osechkin maintained that before his death, Navalny had been forced to spend more than two and a half hours outdoors in a place where temperatures can drop to -27 °C.

“I think they first destroyed his body by keeping him outdoors for a long time in the cold and minimizing blood circulation” Osechkin told The Times.

And he added: “Then it is very easy to kill someone. In a matter of seconds, if the agent has any experience in this. It's a old method of the KGB special forces divisions. They trained their agents to kill a man with a fist blow to the heart, in the center of the body. It was a hallmark of the KGB.”

(Keep reading: The latest decisions regarding the death of Navalny, an opponent of Vladimir Putin)

According to the official statement on Navalny's death, The leader collapsed in a Siberian prison camp around 2:00 p.m. local time on Friday, after a walk in the yard.

Osechkin also said that several former prisoners who had served their sentences at Lobo Polar, the prison where Navalny was held, claimed to have seen those in charge execute prisoners in this way on different occasions.

Likewise, Osechkin published a report last week in which he claimed that agents of the Federal Security Service had visited the prison two days before Navalny's death and They disconnected some of their security cameras and microphones.

(Also: Russian investigators will examine Alexei Navalny's body for at least 14 days)

In this sense, the Russian activist considered that the most important thing at this moment is that Navalny's body be handed over to his family so that it can be examined and the respective tests carried out.

However, Osechkin believes, as he expressed to the British media, that there is a great risk that Navalny will be cremated.

This Wednesday, the opponent's family announced that they had filed a lawsuit in court so that The authorities expedite the delivery of his bodysomething that he already demanded from the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, the day before.

(We recommend: Alexei Navalny's family files a lawsuit to demand the delivery of the opponent's body)

INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL
TIME