CINCINNATI (AP) — An effort to posthumously restore the U.S. citizenship of a former Ohio autoworker convicted of Nazi war crimes has been dismissed.
Ukrainian-born John Demjanjuk (dem-YAHN'-yuk) lived in suburban Cleveland. He was convicted in Germany on 28,000 counts of being an accessory to murder at a Polish death camp. He died in March at age 91.
A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati rejected the citizenship bid filed by his estate in June, upholding a judge's ruling in Cleveland. The panel says Demjanjuk's death made the case moot.
The Demjanjuk defense team's request to the full court to take up the case was denied. The court filed the dismissal Tuesday.
The defense contends the U.S. government withheld potentially helpful material. A prosecutor rejects that.
The defense hasn't returned a message left Wednesday seeking comment.
