The Nagorno-Karabakh resident who was taken hostage by the Azerbaijani military was beaten and treated inhumanely before being returned to the Armenian side, Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan said.

Stepanyan said the man's right leg has been injured, he is now back at his home.

"The Azerbaijani side continues with its aggressive behavior, not missing the opportunity to torture and humiliate people who have found themselves in territories under Azeri control," Stepanyan wrote on social media.

Russian peacekeepers deployed in the region since the end of the Second Karabakh War negotiated the return of the person, a residen of the village of Machkalashen of Karabakh's Martuni region.