YEREVAN. – Defense Minister of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan on Wednesday received Hakob Injighulyan and his family members.

The minister thanked Injighulyan—the soldier who was held captive in Azerbaijan for more than a year, subsequently transferred to a third country, and who ultimately returned to Armenia on October 2, 2014—for his perseverance and patriotic demeanor.

The military serviceman, for his part, gave details on the inhuman treatment and the psychological and physical pressure he had been subjected to during Azerbaijani captivity.

In turn, the defense minister expressed the hope that Injighulyan will shake off, as quickly as possible, the effects of stress during his nightmarish days in Azerbaijan. He added that these actions are evidence to the fact that the Azerbaijani authorities have developed a specific policy of sending captured soldiers to a third country after subjecting them to psychological pressures, torture, and death threats.

At the end of the talk, Seyran Ohanyan expressed satisfaction that even after such an ordeal, Injighulyan still has expressed a wish to continue his military service.

The defense minister ordered to consider, and based on the results of Hakob Injighulyan’s medical examination, the matter of his future military service, but underscored the need for Injighulyan to get an education.