London, Thanasis Gavos

Alexei Navalny was likely killed by a punch to the hearta technique once taught to agents of the Soviet state security service KGB, a Russian human rights organization founder tells The Times.

According to Vladimir Osetskin from the organization Gulagu.net, this technique can be fatal for victims whose bodies are overworked. In this particular case, Navalny was allegedly exposed to cold conditions for many hours before being attacked.

Osetskin cites a source for his theory from the Arctic convict colony where Navalny was heldwho died on Friday at the age of 47.

The source claims that before his death, the Russian deputy had been forced to spend two and a half hours in solitary confinementwith a temperature that could have dropped to -27 degrees Celsius.

The usual practice of outdoor isolation does not provide for a duration of more than an hour and much shorter in conditions of such extreme cold.

“I think that first they destroyed his body by keeping him out in the cold for a long time, reducing blood circulation to a minimum. And then it becomes very easy to kill someone, in a matter of seconds, if the perpetrator has some experience with them,” Osechkin tells the British newspaper.

He adds that the fatal punch to the heart was the trademark of old KGB agents.

Osetskin thinks so the Navalny family’s assessment of his murder with novichok is probably not correct, because the nerve agent would leave traces in the victim’s body and implicate Putin. “When someone is under the control of the prison system there are many options for how to kill them,” he comments.

Oschetkin’s organization reported last week that two days before Navalny’s death, officers from the Russian FSB security service visited the penal colony.which disconnected security cameras and microphones.

According to Osetskin their presence in prison is proof that Navalny’s death was ordered by the Kremlin.

He also thinks that reports of bruising in the heart area are consistent with his theory.