Nine men involved in an Alice Springs prison riot last year have been handed eight-month sentences after a judge accepted that "harsh" and "oppressive" conditions inside contributed to the unrest.

Graham Abbott, Daniel Quentin, Malcolm Driffen, Charles Kennedy, Rayden Mills, Damien Nolan, Ethan Palmer, Geoffrey Pareroultja and Jonathon Tilmouth each pleaded guilty to escaping their cells and rioting on January 7 last year .

In sentencing them on Wednesday, Local Court Judge David Bamber said while he accepted the "unpleasant" conditions inside the prison had led the men to escape their cells into a common area, there was no excuse for their behaviour, which was "stupid in its outcome".

Mr Abbott's lawyer, Luke Carr, told the court the use of force by guards in response to the riot, as

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