A 21-year-old Dutch Muslim convert who escaped from Iraq with her two children should no longer be held in a high security jail pending her trial on terrorism charges, the public prosecution department said at a preliminary hearing on Thursday.

Laura Hansen, from Zoetermeer, has been held in the high security jail in Vught since last August, having fled via Kurdish territory with her two young children with the help of her father.

She claims she was tricked into going to Syria by her husband after the family left for what she believed was a holiday in Turkey and has since renounced Islam.

The public prosecution department earlier insisted she remain in custody while it completed its investigation, which included the possibility she was sent back to the Netherlands to carry out a terrorist attack.

The department no longer considers this to be an option, the department said in court. Judges will decide next week if Hansen should actually be released.