MOSCOW, April 7 (RIA Novosti) - A senior European psychiatrist arrested in Moscow by the Interpol on sexual abuse charges has asked for political asylum in Russia, his attorney said Friday.

In May 2005, a French court sentenced Dr. Jean Andres Hoareau, a specialist in forensic psychiatry and sexual disorders and deputy chairman of the Association of European Psychiatrists, to 15 years in jail for raping a client while she was under hypnosis. The verdict was passed in Hoareau's absence.

"My client has been detained by the international department of Interpol, which acted on the decision of French justice," Igor Trunov said, adding that Hoareau was being kept in a detention center for foreigners.

Trunov said the detention of his client in Moscow was a "political decision."

He said Hoareau, also the founder of the European Center for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Moscow, had been living in the Russian capital for 15 years. He also said his client was married with three children.

"We are going to appeal the detention decision, most likely with the Moscow City Court," Trunov said.