Iranian asylum seeker 'near death' after hunger strike in WA

There are grave fears for an asylum seeker who has been taken to hospital from an immigration detention centre northeast of Perth after going on a hunger strike.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has not specifically confirmed reports a 25-year-old Iranian detainee from Yongah Hill near Northam, Saeed Hassanloo, is being treated at Royal Perth Hospital after refusing to eat for more than 35 days.

But a department spokeswoman confirmed an Iranian man from the facility was being cared for in hospital.

The department is working very closely with its service provider and medical staff to ensure this man is receiving the most appropriate care possible, she said.

It has been reported Mr Hassanloo is near death.

He has been in detention for the past four-and-a-half years.

The government has made it very clear that when a person has exhausted all avenues to remain in Australia, he/she is expected to depart Australia.

The development comes after detainees were moved from Yongah Hill to other facilities as part of the department's rebalancing of numbers around the network, and after rooftop protests at Yongah Hill.