Former CIA officer John Kiriakou leaves a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - Former CIA officer John Kiriakou has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for leaking a covert officer's name to a reporter.

Kiriakou was sentenced Friday in federal court in Alexandria. The 48-year-old Arlington resident pleaded guilty last year to violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. No one had been convicted under the law in 27 years.

The plea deal required the judge to impose a sentence of 2½ years. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said she would have given Kiriakou much more time if she could.

Kiriakou's supporters describe him as a whistleblower who exposed aspects of the CIA's use of torture against detained terrorists. Prosecutors say Kiriakou was merely seeking to increase his fame and public stature by trading on his insider knowledge.