Hakob Injighulyan, the Armenian serviceman who was held captive in Azerbaijan last August, was finally repatriated overnight.

As Tert.am reports, His family, friends and fellow villagers had gathered at the Zvartnots International Airport with flowers to meet him. As Hakob hurriedly entered the reception hall, he immediately fell into the arms of loved ones, moving everybody to tears of joy.

He later responded to journalists. The serviceman said that he had gone astray on the day of captivity, negligently crossing the Azerbaijani border from Nagorno-Karabakh. He promised to continue his service in the military, adding that he still has 9 months to fulfill his duty to the motherland.

Asked how he was treated in Azerbaijan and whether footages aired by a local TV channel were reliable, Injighulyan refrained from giving any comments, saying only that he had experienced lots of hardships while in captivity.

“Yes, I was beaten and cursed. They threatened to shoot me to death. The interviews were given under pressure; they would call and tell me what to say. And before the Red Cross visits too, they would call me to give instructions; they would read my letters …” he said.

Injighulyan added that he now feels better, both physically and mentally. He thanked international organizations for freeing him.

The serviceman said that he had himself made the decision to return, with the international organizations only offering their aid. Asked why he didn’t directly come and preferred instead to go to a third country, Injighulyan replied, “The Azerbaijani leadership said ��?you have to go to a third country; if you try to flee from captivity or return to Armenia, you will be threatened with death’. So I went to a third country and came back to Armenia.”

Asked whether the Azerbaijanis tried to illicit information from him, the servicemen didn’t rule out that possibility. “But it isn’t something I can say on air. They wanted to know things mainly about my service, the military positions and politics …”

Injighulyan said he was being held in a five-storey penitentiary for servicemen, where he had also met Armenians. But he did not disclose any names.

He thanked all those Armenians who do not consider him a traitor.

Injighulyan said he would directly head to a church from the airport to thank God for his release. “I want to go to church; my savior  cross rescued me, but I am not wearing it any more as an old woman pulled it from my neck,” he added.