Erdbrink is currently receiving a lot of praise with his new documentary series Our man is in the Taliban. The journalist, who has lived in Iran for more than twenty years, joined in on Sunday afternoon Buitenhof, presented by Tuan Huyes. He gave Erdbrink a photo of an Iranian girl who had been shot in the eye. “The National Guard seems to have decided: We’re shooting in the eyes, because this has a terrible effect,” said Hewes.

The image hit Erdbrink hard, after which tears welled up in his eyes. “Seeing what Iranian women and protesters from Afghanistan did was of course very inspiring. And yes, an example for all of us.” Silence. After that, Erdbrink said with tears in his eyes: Let’s pick myself up again. “And it will continue. I mean, we don’t yet know what’s going to happen there, and it’s going to take time, and that’s going to be an evolution, and we’ll have to see how that goes.”

What Erdbrink said next remains a mystery. Suddenly the broadcast stopped and a message appeared on the screen. It reads “please wait”. Viewers were surprised. ‘Erdbrink fills up immediately and malfunctions?’ What happened?’

A VPRO spokesperson says the broadcast was not intentionally taken off. “It was a technical glitch. We are still looking into what exactly happened, but it was a coincidence,” the spokesperson said.

Watch videos of the show and entertainment below: