Nadirbayev was prosecuted in the Case of 39 participants in the 2022 Karakalpakstan unrest, which was heard in Bukhara beginning on 6 February 2023. The case concerns the July 2022 protests triggered by proposed constitutional amendments threatening the autonomy of Karakalpakstan. Authorities treated the demonstrations as riots and charged participants under criminal law. Many observers consider the prosecutions politically motivated because they target individuals involved in demonstrations against constitutional reforms. The verdict was delivered on 17 March 2023, and several sentences were later reduced by the Supreme Court on 12 June 2023.