A computer hacker serving 20 years has been given compassionate parole due to the coronavirus pandemic for giving the Islamic State group the personal data of more than 1,300 U.S. government and military personnel and will be held in ICE detention for prompt deportation, a federal judge ordered Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema signed the order in Alexandria reducing Ardit Ferizi’s sentence to time served. The Bureau of Prisons also ordered Brinkema to place Ferizi in a 14-day quarantine immediately to ensure that he is not infected with the coronavirus. Ferizi will be released into Immigration and Customs Control detention at the conclusion of the quarantine so that he can be returned to Kosovo, the court ruled.
Brinkema wrote that Ferizi, 24, will remain on supervised release for 10 years, as imposed when he was sentenced in September 2016.
Ferizi said earlier this fall in a handwritten motion from jail that his asthma and obesity put him at greater risk for COVID-19. He also said special prison restrictions require him to check in with employees every two hours, increasing his contact with guards and his risk of coronavirus infection. Computer Hacker.
At a hearing in October, Brinkema initially rejected Ferizi’s request, citing concerns that, among other issues, he might resume hacking if released. Prosecutors had opposed the release of Ferizi.
