CLEVELAND – A U.S. immigration judge in Virginia on Monday revoked John Demjanjuk's stay of deportation to Germany, clearing the way for the retired autoworker to be sent to Germany to face charges of being a Nazi death camp guard.

The ruling takes effect Wednesday, unless Demjanjuk is able to successfully appeal. There was no immediate indication if he would try.

The 89-year-old suburban Cleveland man, who came to America after World War II, is accused in a German arrest warrant of 29,000 counts of acting as an accessory to murder at a death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1943. He has denied involvement in any deaths.

Authorities in Germany had initially expected him to arrive in that country on Monday. But Demjanjuk won a reprieve Friday after arguing that his case should be reopened and that being forced to go to Germany would amount to torture because of his poor health.

Judge Wayne R. Iskra, who granted the initial stay, reversed the decision Monday without a hearing. He agreed with the U.S. Justice Department's response that the matter should be handled by the Board of Immigration Appeals, which has previously upheld Demjanjuk's removal.

The German Justice Ministry said it was following the U.S. court action closely.

"We have, though, no influence on the process there. It's something within the American justice system," said Justice Ministry spokesman Ulrich Staudigl.

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