Hunger-striking Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny "will not be allowed to die in prison", Moscow's ambassador in London told the BBC on Sunday.
Navalny, 44, the Kremlin's most prominent opponent, began a hunger strike on March 31 to demand proper medical treatment for back pain and numbness in his legs and hands.
"Of course, he will not be allowed to die in prison but I can say that Mr Navalny, he behaves like a hooligan," ambassador Andrei Kelin said.
"His public purpose, all of that, is to attract attention for him also by saying that today his left hand is sick. Tomorrow, his leg is sick."
Navalny was arrested in January on his return to Russia after recovering from a near-fatal poisoning he says was orchestrated by Moscow.
On Saturday, his doctors said his health had rapidly deteriorated and demanded that prison officials grant them immediate access.
"If he will behave normally, he will have a chance to be released earlier," Mr Kelin said.
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