Ms Phromlak said a Syrian family arrested in Thailand had to hire an interpreter who was involved with a trafficking gang.
The interpreter demanded $7,000 (225,000 baht) and valuables from the family as payment for arranging their freedom, but they were never released. The family was also forced to pay copy5,000 to a gang in Syria.
“Brokers demanded money for every legal process. The family ended up paying 2 million baht,” Ms Phromlak said.
Kohnwilai Teppunkoonngam, an LCT lawyer, said such treatment of refugees constituted human trafficking, but many state officials ignored this fact.
"Their rights are violated by Thai legal procedures," she said, and urged Thailand to sign up to the UN’s Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.