Greek citizen Janis Galanos, who was held for more than forty days at the Rehabilitation Center of the Department of Internal Affairs of Tashkent, is finally released.

As the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan informs, Galanos was deported to Greece on December 24 at 12.10 pm via a flight “Tashkent-Istanbul- Athens” according to the certificate issued by the Italian Embassy in Tashkent that allows him to return to Greece.

However, relatives of Janis Galanos told to Mutabar Tadjibayeva, head of international human rights organization “Ardent Hearts Club” that Galanos left Uzbekistan not 24th, but the day after – on 25th of December, and a few hours later was able to call his family from Istanbul.

According to relatives of Janis Galanos, on December 24 Janis was able to meet with his mother on the Northern station in Tashkent, capital city of Uzbekistan.

On that day Janis called his mother and asked her to bring warm clothes for him and that someone meet her at the Northern station and take the clothes.

Relatives of Galanos told to Tadjibayeva that Janis’s mother was in shock, and it took them very long to get her to back to consciousness with the help of medicines. After, they grabbed what came to hand and rushed to the station.

Arriving at the Northern station, Janis’s mother began looking for him shouting his name in the crowd in Greek.

After some time they were asked to come to the checkpoint of the transport police in the station. Only Janis’s mother was allowed to go in and meet him for just few minutes. They were able to exchange several short questions and answers. “Policeman was next to them during their meeting and he did not even allow mother and son to hug each other,” said relatives of Janis Galanos.

Then his mother was told that Janis would be deported from Uzbekistan the next day or in a few days. She was also told she could bring more clothes if she wanted, and that her documents were not ready yet, and she would be deported later.

During meeting of Janis and his mother, relatives who were nearby were not allowed to talk on the phone and write messages.

Janis’s mother and sister rushed to his house, where he lived with his wife and year-old daughter, quickly gathered his belongings, and returned to the station, but could not find anyone there. “There was no one, as if the meeting never happened”, said Janis’s relatives to Mutabar Tadjibayeva.

Photographer and designer Janis Galanos, citizen of Greece and former employee of Gulnara Karimova, president Islam Karimov’s eldest daughter, was detained by armed men on November 13, 2013 in the center of Tashkent.

Several days later, Gulnara Karimova wrote in her Twitter account that Galanos was tortured to coerce a confession.

On December 4, employees of the Human Rights Society “Ezgulik” were able to meet with Janis Galanos at the Rehabilitation Center of the Department of Internal Affairs of Tashkent city and record the meeting with the camera. During this conversation, Galanos has denied all allegations of the use of torture against him.

Human rights activists familiar with the methods of the Uzbek security forces say that Galanos was forced to give such testimony.

31-year-old Janis Galanos refused Uzbek citizenship and accepted citizenship of Greece in 2009.

Gulnara Karimova was one of the first to report about the release of Galanos – she tweeted about it. Expressing her joy on the release of Janis Galasos, her former employee, Gulnara Karimova thanked all the journalists, human rights activists and diplomats, who actively participated in releasing him from detention.

Asad BAYMURADOV