E/CN.4/1999/15 page 18 accompanied by coercion, abuse or threat to safety by exposure of national ethnic or religious symbols to ridicule, damage to other persons' property or desecration of monuments, memorials or graves, punishment consists of imprisonment from 1 to 10 years. 70. The most severe forms of incitement to national, racial and religious hatred, enmity or intolerance are those involving abuse of authority, and are punishable by imprisonment from one to eight years; should such acts cause riots, violence or other grave consequences for the joint life of nations and national minorities living in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, they are punishable by imprisonment from 1 to 10 years. The said criminal offences may be: (a) Violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms recognized by the international community on the basis of race, skin colour, nationality or ethnic origin, which is punishable by imprisonment for six months to five years; (b) Persecution of organizations or individuals for advocating equality among men, which is punishable by imprisonment for six months to five years or (c) Spreading ideas based on the superiority of one race over another, advocating racial hatred or instigating racial discrimination, which are punishable by imprisonment for three months to three years. 71. The Penal Code of the Republic of Serbia (art. 100) and the Penal Code of the Republic of Montenegro (art. 83) stipulate that any act publicly exposing a nation, national minority or ethnic group in Yugoslavia to ridicule is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment. 2. Racial Discrimination 72. The criminal offence of racial and other forms of discrimination (Penal Code of Yugoslavia, art. 54), involving a violation, on the basis of race, skin colour, nationality or ethnic origin, of the fundamental human rights and freedoms recognized by the international community, is punishable by six months to five years’ imprisonment. The same penalty is prescribed for cases of persecution of organizations or individuals advocating equality among men; spreading ideas based on the superiority of one race over another, advocating racial hatred or instigating racial discrimination are punishable by three months’ to three years’ imprisonment. Under the Penal Code of Yugoslavia and of the member republics, violation of the equality of citizens is considered to be a criminal offence. The acts characterized as offences under the three Codes are identical, the only difference being the capacity of the perpetrator. 3. Language in spoken and written form 73. The Constitution of Yugoslavia guarantees members of national minorities the following rights: right to preservation and to official use of their mother tongue in spoken and written form; right to use their mother tongue in spoken and written form and right to an interpreter’s services in court