5. Alleged violation of Article 25 § 1 of the Convention 166. All three applicants complained that the State had hindered the effective exercise of their right to individual petition, contrary to Article 25 § 1 of the Convention, which states: “The Commission may receive petitions addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe from any person, non-governmental organisation or group of individuals claiming to be the victim of a violation by one of the High Contracting Parties of the rights set forth in this Convention, provided that the High Contracting Party against which the complaint has been lodged has declared that it recognises the competence of the Commission to receive such petitions. Those of the High Contracting Parties who have made such a declaration undertake not to hinder in any way the effective exercise of this right.” 167. In their pleadings to the Court, the Government denied that there was any evidence to support the applicants’ claim that they had felt themselves compelled by agents of the State to sign any statement before a notary. 168. The Commission found it impossible to establish whether or not, following his arrest in July 1995, Mr Assenov had been questioned about his application to Strasbourg. However, it noted that his parents had been approached in this connection by representatives of either the police or prosecuting authorities, at a time when their son was being detained on remand. It considered that the only plausible explanation for the applicants’ sworn declaration was that they felt under pressure because of their application and wished to placate the authorities. 169. The Court recalls that the obligation on States under Article 25 § 1 not to interfere with the right of the individual effectively to present and pursue his or her complaint with the Commission confers upon an applicant a right of a procedural nature which can be asserted in Convention proceedings. It is of the utmost importance for the effective system of individual petition that applicants or potential applicants are able to communicate freely with the Convention organs without being subjected to any form of pressure from the authorities to withdraw or modify their complaints (see the Akdivar and Others v. Turkey judgment of 16 September 1996, Reports 1996-IV, pp. 1218 and 1219, §§ 103 and 105 and the Kurt v. Turkey judgment of 25 May 1998, Reports 1998, p. …, § 159). 170. The expression “any form of pressure” must be taken to cover not only direct coercion and flagrant acts of intimidation of applicants, but also other improper indirect acts or contacts designed to dissuade or discourage individuals from pursuing a Convention remedy (see the above-mentioned Kurt judgment, p. …, § 160). The question whether or not contacts between the authorities and applicants are tantamount to unacceptable practices from the standpoint of Article 25 must be determined in the light of the particular circumstances in issue (ibid.). In the present case, the Court notes that that the applicants’ complaints to the Commission concerned serious allegations of misconduct on the part of the police and prosecuting authorities. At the relevant time, Mr Assenov was detained on remand and, given the facts which have led the Court to find violations of Articles 5 § 3 and 5 § 4, his parents may legitimately have considered him to be at risk of prejudicial action taken by the prosecuting authorities. The authorities must also have been aware that the applicants were