The owners of three cannabis cafes in the southern city of Maastricht should be fined €5,000 and given 150 hours of community service for selling the soft drug to tourists, the public prosecution deparment said on Wednesday.

They should also face a one month suspended jail term, the public prosecutor says.

The owners of the cafes are appearing in court for breaking the ban on selling cannabis products to non-residents which was imposed in the south of the country last May.

The cafe owners say they are being unfairly treated because in other parts of the country, such as Amsterdam, tourists have not been banned from using the coffee shops.

A number of cafe workers also appeared in court on Wednesday. They face a two-week suspended jail term and 100 hours community service.