Vic prison riot accused face court

Thirteen men have faced court charged over their alleged roles in the prison riot that forced the Metropolitan Remand Centre into lockdown last year.

Former and current inmates appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in person and via video link on Monday charged with rioting.

The 13 assembled to disrupt the proper operation of the prison in a violent manner, according to charge sheets.

Ten of the accused were also charged with damaging a public facility intending to cause major disruptions to government functions.

Magistrate Suzanne Cameron previously heard the 102 men facing charges over the state's worst prison riot were grouped into three tiers of offending: sabotage, rioting or aiding and abetting sabotage.

Filing hearings will take place in batches over the coming week.

About half of the alleged rioters are still in custody.

Ms Cameron has allowed prosecutors longer than usual to file the brief of evidence against the accused men because of its unusual size and nature.

The court heard last week 3000 videos from 100 cameras are being edited to form part of an interactive brief of evidence.

It will include what prosecutors have called a "highlights reel" for each of the accused.

The accused will return to court starting from June 2.

May 9 has been set aside for defence lawyers to raise any issues.

The June 30 riot at the Metropolitan Remand Centre at Ravenhall, sparked by a smoking ban, caused $10 million damage.