CAIRO
Sixty-two years ago, Mohamed Naguib was sworn in as the first president of Egypt following the overthrow of King Faruq by a group of army officers.
But one year later, Naguib was sacked from his post and placed under house arrest for nearly two decades, which is seen by some Egyptians as the start of the involvement of the military in Egypt’s politics.
Egypt marked this month the 62nd anniversary of the 1952 "revolution", which ended the monarchy in the Arab world's most populous state.
Many Egyptians remember Naguib for his role in the "Free Officers" movement, which deposed King Faruq, the country's last king.
In 1949, Naguib, then a major-general, joined the movement, a group of army officers led by Gamal Abdel-Nasser. Three years later, the movement staged a coup d’etat against the king on July 23, 1952.
Almost 11 months after the "revolution", Naguib declared the end of the monarchy in both Egypt and Sudan on June 18, 1953. On the same day, he was sworn in as the first president of Egypt.
But one year later, Naguib was removed from power in November 1954 and placed under house arrest in Cairo over disagreements with Nasser, who accused him of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood group and harboring "dictatorial ambitions".
Naguib remained under house arrest for nearly two decades until former President Anwar Sadat freed him in 1971. He later died in 1984.
Humiliation
In an attempt to get a glimpse of Naguib's life and house arrest, Anadolu Agency visited his house in Gharbiya in Egypt's Nile Delta.
Some relatives of the former president described how Naguib’s role in the Free Officers movement was denied with the country’s rulers refusing to consider him as Egypt’s first president, giving the title instead to Nasser.
During the visit to the house, Anadolu Agency was shown a group of letters written by Naguib that shed light on his life under house arrest.
In one letter, Naguib appeals to Nasser and then defense minister Abdel-Hakim Amer to offer him a sum of 10 pounds to help him conduct a surgery for his ill wife.
In another message, he offers to sell his belongings in support of Egypt’s military battle against Israel, which captured the Sinai Peninsula during the 1967 Middle East war.
"Unfortunately, I only have five pounds, which is nothing but a symbolic sacrifice for my homeland,” he says.
The former president complains in another letter about his poor living conditions under house arrest.
“Am I alive or dead?” Naguib asks. “I have received no visits from my doctor for the past 10 days even though I take daily injections for a liver disease," he says, going on to call for allowing him to communicate with his family.
Naguib also appeals to Nasser in another letter to allow him to volunteer in the military battle against Israel to take back the Sinai Peninsula.
"Naguib was promised by Amer to remain under house arrest for a few days, but he ended up remaining there for 20 years in humiliation,” Abdel-Kawi Youssef Qashlan, a retired naval officer and a relative of Naguib, told Anadolu Agency.
Military rule
Qashlan said that Naguib had been mistreated by the authorities.
"Naguib was badly treated compared to other presidents," Qashlan said. "Even [Hosni] Mubarak, whose rule was marked by injustice, tyranny and corruption, is being treated in a better way than Naguib."
Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for three decades, was removed from power by a popular uprising in 2011.
The aging leader, however, was cleared of almost all corruption and murder charges against him and is now receiving medical treatment at a military hospital in Cairo.
Qashlan recalled that Naguib's older son was jailed and later died in a "mysterious" car accident.
Naguib's second son was assassinated in Germany, according to Qashlan, for "his anti-Jewish activities".
"Naguib's younger son was fired from an oil company where he was working and was forced to work as a taxi driver," he said.
Shawqi Ghallab, a professor of history at Tanta University, believes that Naguib was a "victim of the July revolution".
"The ouster of Naguib was the actual start of the military rule in Egypt," he said.
Ghallab said that politicians have been at odds over the reasons that led to Naguib’s ouster and his house arrest.
“Some politicians say that [Naguib] was ousted out of fear of his massive popularity at that time and his desire to return the army to the barracks and restore democracy,” he said. “Others, however, cite rumors that Naguib had sympathized with the Brotherhood, which prompted the Free Officers to oust him and place him under house arrest.”
Almost three decades after his death, Egyptian authorities honored Naguib in late 2013 when then-interim President Adly Mansour awarded the Order of the Nile, Egypt's highest state honor, to his name.
