Honecker’s House Arrest Order Lifted : E. Germany: Hard-line Communist leader expected to quit plush residence soon.

East German authorities have lifted a month-old house arrest order against former leader Erich Honecker, saying the measure had no legal basis, the official East German news agency ADN said today.

Honecker, 77, the hard-line Communist leader who resigned under massive pressure Oct. 18, is expected to move out of his residence in the elite East Berlin suburb of Wandlitz soon, and ADN said he has been offered an apartment.

The authorities put the former leader under house arrest early in December at the height of a scandal over alleged corruption and abuses of power by Honecker and other former party and government officials.

Honecker and other officials were accused of having abused their positions to live in luxury on sprawling estates, throwing lavish parties and going hunting in well-stocked private woods.

ADN said today that the authorities lifted the order against Honecker, saying, “This measure cannot be legally supported.”

It did not say whether similar measures taken against other former officials also were lifted and gave no other details.

A few days after placing Honecker under house arrest, the authorities announced they had started legal proceedings against the former head of state and Communist Party leader and arrested other former officials on charges of profiteering.

East German authorities also announced last month they were turning the Wandlitz suburb, which once was reserved for senior party and government officials, into a home for the handicapped.