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CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has said his office is drafting a law to criminalize insulting the uprisings that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and his Islamist successor Mohammed Morsi last year.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Egyptian president drafting a law that would criminalize insulting the uprisings of 2011 and 2013 Back to video

The move intends to ease concerns on both sides of a widening rift over whether the two popular movements expressed the genuine will of Egyptians. The dispute was further stoked by a judge’s dismissal last weekend of a murder case against Mubarak over the killing of protesters.

Just what would constitute an insult however was unclear, as was the timeframe for the legislation’s implementation. Such a law, however, would infringe on the freedom of expression guaranteed by the nation’s new constitution. It follows an intense, yearlong media campaign to denigrate the 2011 uprising and paint those behind it as foreign agents.

Many of those who participated in the 2011 uprising also supported massive street demonstrations in June 2013 accusing Morsi of monopolizing power and demanding his resignation, but were later targeted by a crackdown that saw many of their leaders jailed.