confined in a house

probably not the defector may not be under arrest for a crime

More like "protective custody".

Potential witnessess are held in protective custody.
Fake Iranian Defector

House arrest implies there has been a crime committed by the person being held or, in some countries, that the person may be involved in politics not to the liking of the present regime. Singapore

"He became monarch of Sikkim nine months later but was deposed in 1973 and confined to his palace under house arrest."
-- said of the late Crown Prince of Sikkim [in Wikipedia, s.v. Hope Cooke]

The quotation above is an example of correct usage.

This example, from Ohio laws, means that a confined person is certainly not always under arrest:

- 3707.14 Maintenance of persons confined in quarantined house:

...for all persons confined in such house or place...


Etymology: from Latin confinium, boundary, limit

Sikkim Rex

Sure you don't mean "confined in-house"?

it was confined in a house, sure..

as an aside - things are generally confined "to" other things - confined to a house, confined to prison, confined to bed, please confine your comments to those of relevance <g>