Hishan's criminal record was clean: National Awards Committee

The National Awards Committee has stated that the committee checked the criminal record of alleged child sex offender and Honorary Disability Ambassador, Ahmed Hishan before conferring him the National Award in 2014.

While speaking at a press conference at the President's Office on Wednesday, chairperson of the National Awards Committee, Aneesa Ahmed stated that the committee has a vetting process for every candidate for the award and that the criterion is published every year in the government's gazette. Said vetting process includes checking the criminal record of the candidate and Hishan's criminal record came out clean, stated Aneesa, adding that the relevant authorities confirmed that Hishan had no allegations or cases ongoing against either.

Aneesa went on to defend the committee's regulations and standards, stating that the Hishan's vetting process found no cause for concern at the time.

As such, Aneesa stated that while awards can be revoked in certain circumstances, the committee does not have the authority to conduct investigations before the winner is convicted of a crime.

Nevertheless, if a winner is convicted of a crime, the committee has the authority to request the president to revoke the award after presenting the required documents, said Aneesa. She further asserted that the award will be rescinded from Hishan as well if he is convicted of any crime.

Ahmed Hishan was granted the National Award in 2014 for his humanitarian contributions, especially for the disabled community.