CLEVELAND — A federal appeals court rejected a request Thursday to restore the US citizenship of a recently deceased Ohio autoworker convicted of Nazi war crimes.

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati ruled that John Demjanjuk cannot regain his citizenship posthumously. The court ruling said in its ruling that his death made the case moot.

Demjanjuk died March 17 in Germany at age 91. His defense attorneys had asked the appeals court to restore the former suburban Cleveland resident’s citizenship, saying the American government withheld potentially helpful material.

The defense team had asked in its filing in April that the court either restore the citizenship or order a hearing on the case.

The decision upheld a ruling last year by a Cleveland judge who refused to reopen the citizenship case.

Demjanjuk’s attorneys said US District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland erred in his refusal. The government argued that the defense filing contained no new information.

ASSOCIATED PRESS