17 women jailed for prostitution

An appeals court in Abu Dhabi sentenced 17 Filipinas to between one and 10 years in prison after they were convicted of indulging in human trade and prostitution, press reports said on Monday. The ring leader was sentenced to 10 years while her two aides were jailed for three years each. The court sentenced the rest for one year in jail. The three had been accused of using 20 women brought from the Philippines in forced prostitution although the main culprit claimed she had told them about they would be involved in vice before she brought them into the UAE. Replying to adultery charges, she said she had not been involved in adultery in the UAE but admitted she had done so at home. The court ordered the deportation of all defendants and the victims.