For the first time, Roman Sterlingov writes about the abuse he’s experiencing in prison, and what it means to lose your privacy – to those who are incarcerated, and to those living freely in society.

Roman Sterlingov is currently serving a 12.5 year prison sentence for allegedly operating the early bitcoin mixer Bitcoin Fog, gaining publicity in a case that "put cryptocurrency tracing on trial". A hearing for his appeal is scheduled for May 12th, 2026. Read more about his case here.

"They can take all your ramen soups and socks, Roman, and lay you down on a concrete floor without a mattress, and they can strip-search you 3 times a day, but they cannot do anything to your mind," he said. Tom was leaning against a railing as angrily yelling inmates in depressing ugly overalls were buzzing around him, helplessly cursing empty threats against the guards. We had once again been gathered in a large, damp, bare-floored brick hall where we would spend the excruciating rest of the day.

Our regular cell was being "shaken down." The process involved throwing all of our personal items on the floor, going through our bunks, taking our things, such as any piece of white bread that we might have saved for the hungry evening, a leftover snack from the previous day, the affectionately named "cat food" Tuesday. However, the hungry were perhaps not in the worst position, not compared to the cold, most of whom would lose their extra blankets and possibly their paid-for t-shirts. I was both cold and somewhat hungry, but mostly I was worried about which of my books would forever disappear. We had been allotted a generous limit of 2 books per person, which was itself yet better than the previous year of having no books at all.

...read more at therage.co