Lithuanian Official Held by Soviets

MOSCOW —  Soviet commandos arrested the chief of Lithuania’s nationalist militia Monday for allegedly possessing illegal weapons and held him for nearly 12 hours, a Lithuanian parliamentary spokeswoman said.

Authorities later called the arrest “accidental.”

Audrius Butkevicius, chief of Lithuania’s national security department, and his chauffeur were stopped while driving past a building controlled by the Communist Party in Vilnius at 12:45 a.m., spokeswoman Rita Dapkus said.

The building was used Sunday as a polling station for the Kremlin’s nationwide referendum on preserving the Soviet Union, she said. Lithuania’s secessionist government refused to take part in the referendum.

Another Lithuanian spokesman, Simas Ardziunas, said Soviet “black beret” commandos stopped Butkevicius’ car and took him into custody on charges of illegally possessing a pistol.