Cinema Rex, The Auschwitz of Abadan

On August 19,1978, in the southern city of Abadan, on the order of Ali Khamenei (Iran’s supreme leader) Cinema Rex
was set ablaze by Islamic extremist in order to incite riots by blaming it on the Shah of Iran.
This was the most horrific incident of the 1978/79 revolution in Iran, in which according to the official figures 377 people were burnt alive,
Unofficially the figures ran as high as six to seven hundred people. The culprits who were Islamic revolutionaries chained and locked
the exist doors to prevent the victims escape and hampered the firemen and the police’s efforts to rescue the victims.
After 27 years from this catastrophe, the western media still have not uncovered the story. In the pre-revolutionary days,
When the western media was busy portraying Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as an innocent holy man in exile, his extremist followers were fueling the revolution by burning cinemas, cabarets and robbing banks to fund their activities and terrorizing women by spraying acid on their faces.
Shortly after the Islamist’s victory, during the early months of the new Islamic government in Iran, a few innocent individuals were tried
and executed for this crime. Among them were the owner of the movie theater, its manager and even the police man who was patrolling the vicinity.
After the revolution in 1979, it was discovered that the crime was committed by the revolutionaries to fuel the publics’ anger.
Hossein Boroujerdi, one of the three people who delivered the chemical fuel to the city identifies Ali Khamenei (Iran’s supreme leader)
as the person who provided them with the chemicals. This information is documented in Boroujerdi’s book by the title of “Behind The
Islamic Revolution’s curtains, Confessions OF Hossein Boroujerdi” ISBN 3-93524966-7.
I urge all the human rights organizations, political leaders of the free world as well as the free western journalist to investigate and
report this horrific crime. In the name of justice, humanity and social responsibility, we owe this to the victims and their families.
It is time to tell the story.

Ramin Etebar, MD

An Iranian-American Physician,
Political and Human Rights Activist.