An asylum seeker died at Yongah Hill Detention Centre at Northam on Friday night.
Refugee groups say the man committed suicide but the Department of Immigration denied that.
"The department can confirm that a male detainee has died at the Yongah Hill Detention Centre. There is no indication of suicide or suspicious circumstances at this stage," a spokesperson said.
That statement had been directly challenged by the Refugee Rights Action Network.
Spokeswoman Sally Thompson said her group had been contacted by detainees in the camp on Saturday morning and told that the Afghani man who died had deliberately injured himself.
"They told us this young man, a husband and a father, had self-harmed," she said.
Other reports say that the asylum seeker, who was in his twenties, may have died from a heart attack.
RRAN said the man who died had been beaten up by other detainees several weeks ago.
The group claimed he was attacked by a number of detainees who are being held under section 501 of the Immigration Act prior to be deported because of their criminal record.
"RRAN has expressed concern and anger on many occasions at the mixing of these two cohorts at Yongah Hill," Ms Thompson said.
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