MOSCOW, September 26 (RAPSI, Yevgeniya Sokolova) – Russia’s Justice Ministry had started to pay compensations to applicants, who could win their cases in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), NGO “Zona Prava” (Law Zone) representing interests of cancer-stricken Andrey Lavrov told RAPSI on Monday.

On March 1, 2016, ECHR held to recover 20,000 euros from the Russian Government in favor of Lavrov as a compensation for his emotional damages suffered due to the failure to provide him with medical care in a Chelyabinsk penal colony, a representative of the NGO said.

The official in charge of ECHR-related issues with the Justice Ministry had not appealed against this decision and it became final, he added. Nevertheless, no money reached Lavrov, who needs expensive medical treatment.

The Justice Ministry explained the fact by referring to the lack of funds allotted to comply with the ECHR decisions; however, after turning to the Prosecutor General of Russia the activists could make the Ministry to pay.

“Today, it got about that the money had been transferred to Lavrov,” the NGO representative said.

Besides, after a two-week delay Mikhail Novoruk, a Moldavian citizen residing in Russia, was also granted 17,000 euros ECHR held due to him this March.