Otkirbek Sobirov is a social media user active in a Telegram group focused on local gas issues (reported as “Kokand methane gas”). His case is tied to posts and messages made in late January 2023, following which police searched and seized his phone and initiated proceedings. He was convicted by a court in Fergana for his online activities, which authorities interpreted as calls for demonstrations and the removal of the president amid gas and electricity shortages. He was sentenced to serve time in a general-regime prison colony.