Judges in Rotterdam have again ruled that the Dutch state must bring a group of mothers and children back to the Netherlands from Syria, in order to ensure the women are prosecuted.

The court ruled in a closed hearing that the state must fetch 12 women and their 29 children within four months, the Telegraaf reported.

The Netherlands wants to prosecute the women for their role in the terror group IS and the women say they want to appear in court personally, as is their right.

The courts have previously come to similar verdicts but this is the biggest group of women to be involved in a single hearing, the paper said.

In February, the Netherlands brought back five women and 11 children from the Kurdish refugee camp Al Roj in northern Syria. They face a variety of charges, including membership of a terrorist organisation and preparing to carry out acts of terrorism.

The Netherlands has been struggling with deciding what to do about its jihadi brides and children and the government has said it will not actively try to bring Dutch nationals back because it is too dangerous for civil servants to make the trip.

Last June, the Netherlands brought back Ilham B from Gouda along with three children, one of whom was a 12-year-old said to have been kidnapped and taken to Syria by her mother.

Ilham B too had demanded the right to appear in court personally – a claim upheld by judges earlier in the year. Earlier this week, the public prosecution department said she should be jailed for eight years for her role within Islamic State.