The BBC referred to the launch of Hawlati as the birth of independent media in Iraq.

Hawlati claims to be the first independent newspaper in the region since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

The newspaper’s independent stance has frequently brought it into trouble with the authorities.

In 2008, the former editor, Abad Arif, was arrested and released on bail after a suit bought by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani for an article in the newspaper alleging corruption in the Iraqi Government.

[6] In 2008 Hawlati was voted the most popular newspaper in Iraqi Kurdistan.