YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. Ukrainian citizen has been in captivity in Azerbaijan for 17 years, and he has been released only thanks to police special operations, Vyacheslav Abroskin – deputy chief of the National Police of Ukraine, said on Facebook, reports Armenpress.

Abroskin informed that currently steps are being taken to return the captive to the homeland.

According to Vyacheslav Abroskin, the Ukrainian citizen, 65, was regularly visiting Azerbaijan for work since 1991, but in 1999 he was subjected to physical violence by one of the employers and was forced to work as a slave.

In April 2016 the Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies have freed him during special operations in one of Baku’s livestock farms. At that period the man was in critical condition, he was unable to speak and tell what had happened to him.

Under the supervision of public authorities, he underwent a long-term medical treatment and currently he feels good.

13 years after his disappearance, the Ukrainian court declared him missing and his registration was removed from the registry. The man has no relatives.

In March 2017 the man was given a Ukrainian passport, and the Ukraine police together with the Ukrainian Embassy in Azerbaijan has launched the works on returning the man to the homeland.