Soviet Dissident Taken to Psychiatric Hospital

MOSCOW —  Nina Kovalenko, a member of a disarmament group not sanctioned by the government, has been sent to a psychiatric hospital, a member of the group told Western reporters Thursday.

Kovalenko was detained Wednesday night while on her way to a meeting of the Committee to Establish Trust between the U.S.S.R. and U.S.A., a spokeswoman said.

Dissidents and human rights groups frequently have accused Soviet authorities of using confinement in psychiatric hospitals as a form of punishment for people out of favor with the government.

Two other members of the disarmament group were detained but their fates are not known, the spokeswoman said.