The number of people executed in Iran doubled between 1995 and 1996 and may double again this year, a U.N. special investigator says.

In a report to the General Assembly this week, special investigator Maurice Danby Copithorne also said improvements in Iran's human rights situation have been "imperceptible, or at least so modest as to represent little substantive improvement."

Copithorne noted that the U.N. Human Rights Commission said earlier this year that the number of executions in Iran last year "had reportedly at least doubled" since 1995….

"In addition, there continue to be troubling reports of disappearances and deaths under suspicious circumstances," he added. "Public hanging also appears to be on the increase."…

Although the U.N. report mostly covers the months before Khatami took office, it noted little improvement so far in the human rights situation in Iran.

Copithorne expressed particular concern over "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," including stoning of women for adultery. He also said Iran does not recognize "the equality at law of men and women" and tolerates "discriminatory conduct" against women….

[Following the interim report by the UN special investigator to the UN General Assembly, Mr. Massoud Rajavi, President of the NCR, said: "The report lays bare a glimpse of the atrocities perpetrated by Khomeini's anti-human regime."

[Mr. Rajavi added that "the report was yet another document confirming that the mullahs' religious, terrorist dictatorship is not prone to reform. It reaffirmed the need to expel Tehran's clerical regime from the international community and that the time had come for the UN Security Council to adopt binding decisions in this regard."]

"No Signs of Moderation by Khatami", The Associated Press, November 5 

…Iran was one of a number of issues [German Foreign Minister Klaus] Kinkel and [Secretary of State Madeleine] Albright were expected to discuss during their luncheon meeting.

The United States has advocated a policy of isolating Iran and has been critical of Germany and other European countries for pursuing a policy of engagement.

Albright reaffirmed U.S. concerns about Iranian involvement in international terrorism and its efforts to build nuclear weapons and undermine the Middle East peace process….

U.S. officials said they have detected no signs of moderation by Iran since the new president, Mohammad Khatami, took office in August….

Khamenei: "Death to America" Not Just A Slogan, Reuter, November 5 

Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday ruled out any thaw in relations with the United States, saying Washington wanted to force Tehran to abandon its Islamic principles….

"There are some people (in Iran) who believe, when the Iranian nation says: 'Struggle against America' or 'Death to America' or 'No to ties with America,' that these are slogans and purely emotional things," Khamenei said. "This is wrong.

"This is a fundamental issue based on logical grounds and wisdom and it is in conformity with the national interests of this country," Khamenei said without naming a party….

[Dow Jones News Service also reported on Wednesday that Khamenei "rejected any reconciliation with the U.S." and quoted him as saying: "Some statements calling for holding talks and establishing relations with the United States are null, void and lack truth ."]

Resistance Forces Successfully Campaigned in 238 Cities Across Iran, Iran Zamin News Agency, November 5

Mojahedin Command Headquarters inside Iran announced in a statement that the Resistance forces carried out social activities and publicity work in 238 cities across the country, including Tehran, Mashhad and Isfahan, in a month-long campaign celebrating the beginning of the new academic year.

The activities by the Resistance forces included fomenting demonstrations and social strikes, writing slogans on walls, and distributing messages of the Resistance's leadership, directives of the Mojahedin Command HQ to different social sectors, and publicity brochures and flyers.

The statement said that simultaneous with these activities, Iranian youths continued to join the National Liberation Army of Iran.

According to the statement, the Iranian Resistance forces, particularly college and high school students, played a significantly active role in inciting student protests and strikes in different cities.

The State Security Forces and Guards Corps staged numerous maneuvers to confront the escalation of these acts of social protest and set up more checkpoints in the cities and reinforced their troops both in the cities and at the city entrances to exert maximum control on the public.

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