(AP) A computer hacker who gave the Islamic State group personal data of more than 1,300 U.S. government and military personnel will remain in a federal prison after a judge rejected his request for compassionate release.
Ardit Ferizi, 24, is serving a 20-year sentence. The native of Kosovo is the first person convicted in the U.S. of both computer hacking and terrorism charges. He is currently held at a federal prison in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and is scheduled for release in 2032 if he gets credit for good behavior.
Ferizi asked a federal judge in Alexandria to release him from prison. In a handwritten motion from prison, he said his asthma and obesity place him at greater risk of contracting COVID-19.
