On 16 April 2026, security forces arrested journalist and Channel 8 Satellite TV reporter Ayoub Ali Warti while he was preparing a report on the waste left by oil refineries in Erbil. He was arrested without cause or prior order, apparently to prevent media coverage of the pollution and gas emissions and their impact on the area’s residents. He was released a few hours later.

He was also briefly arrested on 18 July 2022 and released after several hours of detention. He was accused of publishing investigative reports that were critical of the local government.