38 L.M. AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT the Court who is based in Moscow, but also on the possibility of meeting with locally based lawyers and human rights defenders. Numerous complaints indicate that these meetings with the applicants were denied or made subject to formalities that were difficult to overcome (see paragraph 39 above and further). In particular, it appears from the letters from the detention centre that in order to have a meeting with a representative, both an inmate and his representative have to lodge advance written requests, which should also be certified by a notary and drafted in the presence of an interpreter (see paragraph 41 above). These requirements were applied to a member of the bar, Mr P.K., who was refused access to the applicants on the basis of the engagement letter (see paragraph 50 above). Attempts by Ms Lyubov M.-E. to meet with the applicants were also rejected (see paragraphs 42 and 43 above). It also appears that the applicants were not given access to a telephone and could not therefore communicate properly with their representatives. 160. The Court notes the applicants’ claim that they had been forced to sign statements withdrawing their asylum requests and containing a refusal to meet with Ms Lyubov M.-E. (see paragraphs 46 and 47 above). These statements were later retracted by L.M. and M.A. as obtained under duress and without a proper interpreter; both applicants insisted that they had wanted their asylum requests to proceed and to be assisted by Ms Lyubov M.-E. (see paragraphs 48, 49 and 52-55 above). The Court reiterates that whether or not contact between the authorities and an applicant are tantamount to unacceptable practice from the standpoint of Article 34 must be determined in the light of the particular circumstances of the case. In this respect, regard must be had to the vulnerability of the complainant and his or her susceptibility to influence exerted by the authorities (see Knyazev v. Russia, no. 25948/05, § 117, 8 November 2007, with further references). An applicant’s position might be particularly vulnerable when he is held in custody and has limited contact with his family or the outside world (see Cotleţ v. Romania, no. 38565/97, § 71, 3 June 2003). In addition to being in detention, the applicants in the present case have a very poor command of Russian and have no family or social network, which makes them particularly at risk to unacceptable practice. They complained that the statements in question, which had negative consequences on the proceedings which were of vital interest to them, had been obtained under duress. The Court notes with concern the absence of any meaningful reaction from the relevant authorities to these complaints raising serious allegations of such practice. 161. To sum up, despite several attempts to organise meetings, M.A. and L.M. only met once with their representative, on 17 December 2014. M.A. had one more meeting with his brother and sister-in-law on 22 October 2014, which lasted about ten minutes. A.A. did not meet with a representative prior to his escape from the detention centre (see