Man punished for calling on people to protest in Instagram comment

A man who called on people to take part in a protest in the comments section of an Instagram post has been fined 22.5 million sums. QALAMPIR.UZ has reviewed the court ruling.

According to the case materials, in April 2025, B.N. posted comments from his personal account in the discussion section of a post titled “On May 1 everything is going up, we work only to pay for electricity and gas,” published on Instagram by a profile named “sh.a.” In his comments, he expressed statements calling for public protest.

“I wrote comments under the video. I am speaking out, saying let’s gather, but no one has the courage. I will gather 10 acquaintances — is there anyone who will join? I have a family and children, I did not have the courage to speak out alone, but if everyone stands by me, I will go out and speak harshly, my word is my word. If there are those who have the courage to protest, write back, I will organize it,” he wrote.

Following this, an administrative offense report was drawn up against B.N.

On January 14 of this year, the case was heard by the Bektemir District Criminal Court. During the hearing, B.N. pleaded guilty and asked the court for leniency. He was found guilty of committing an offense предусмотренное by Article 201-1 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility and was fined 60 times the base calculation amount, amounting to 22,500,000 sums.

It is worth noting that earlier, individuals who spread false information about alleged mass unrest in Kokand were sentenced to imprisonment.