Former bishop László Tokes claims that the deprivation of his award, the Stars of Romania, is a mockery of the rule of law in Romania and Europe, reports MTI agency, citing News.ro.

In a ruling announced on Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Cassation dismissed the former bishop’s appeal to overturn a 2016 decision by President Klaus Iohannis to strip him of the Star of Romania award.

According to him, the final decision in this case will be made by the European Court of Human Rights.

László Tokes received the “Star of Romania” award on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Revolution. Former president Traian Basescu offered him this knighthood because of the role he played in the revolution in Timisoara.

However, in 2016, Klaus Iohannis withdrew the award, which had been initiated by the then Prime Minister Victor Ponta since 2013. The abolition of the distinction came about because László Tokes proposed that Hungary take on the role of “guarantor state” for Transylvania, as Austria had done for South Tyrol.

“The High Court of Cassation and Justice committed an obvious illegality by disregarding the right to freedom of expression and opinion of László Tekes and ignoring the fact that his contested statements from the Summer University of Beile Tušnad are not indecent acts,” the press release states , which is quoted by News.ro.

László Tokes claims that his statements at the time were wrongly translated by the Romanian press.