A 58-year-old Greek priest alleged to have sexually molested a minor in Barcelona had his appeal against extradition to Spain rejected on Saturday by a Supreme Court rapporteur, in the first high court test of a new European arrest warrant.

A lower court had accepted the extradition request submitted by Spanish authorities after the unnamed cleric was charged with molesting a young girl between 2001 and 2002, when he was giving Greek lessons to children in Barcelona.

According to the court’s ruling, the extradition of the priest for trial in Spain would not violate the Greek Constitution. The ruling was echoed by the Supreme Court rapporteur, who explained that a Greek citizen could be tried by Spanish authorities before being sent back to Greece to serve his sentence. In this particular case, however, the priest would probably face a longer jail sentence in Greece than in Spain, if convicted.

But the cleric has denied any wrongdoing and is insisting on being tried in Greece. He has claimed that the charges have been brought against him by Spanish Catholics seeking to persecute him because of his religious beliefs.

Greece passed a law last summer to ratify the European arrest warrant.