Stuart Colin Sleeman (10 March 1914 – 14 June 2006) was a British

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

. As an Assistant Judge Advocate General, he was appointed as senior counsel for the defence in two trials of Japanese soldiers accused of war crimes held in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was later a circuit judge in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Life and education

Sleeman was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, where his father was a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

. He was related to Sir

William Henry Sleeman Major-general Sir William Henry Sleeman KCB (8 August 1788 – 10 February 1856) was a British soldier and administrator in British India. He is best known for his work from the 1830s in suppressing the organized criminal gangs known as Thuggee. ...

, an administrator in India in the first half of the 19th century who was responsible for suppressing the

Thuggee Thuggee (, ) are actions and crimes carried out by Thugs, historically, organised gangs of professional robbers and murderers in India. The English word ''thug'' traces its roots to the Hindi ठग (), which means 'swindler' or 'deceiver'. Rela ...

sect. Sleeman was educated at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

,"Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p191: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948 and then read Jurisprudence at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

. Sleeman was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1938, where he later became a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

in 1974. He married Margaret Farmer in 1944, with whom he had two sons and a daughter (Stuart, Jeremy and Jennifer). In the

, he was initially employed in the

Ministry of Economic Warfare The Minister of Economic Warfare was a British government position which existed during the Second World War. The minister was in charge of the Special Operations Executive and the Ministry of Economic Warfare. See also * Blockade of Germany (193 ...

. He was commissioned into the

16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers The 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed by the amalgamation of the 16th The Queen's Lancers and the 5th Royal Irish Lancers in 1922. The reason for the uniquely atypical regimental title (wit ...

, and became a staff captain in the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the A ...

. He was ultimately promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, and was appointed Assistant Judge Advocate General in the headquarters of the Allied Land Forces in South East Asia.

War crimes trials

The trials in

of Japanese soldiers on charges of war crimes began in January 1946. In the first trial,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Gozawa Sadaichi and nine other Japanese soldiers were accused of maltreating Indian

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

who refused to join the Japanese-sponsored

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...

. The British were conscious of the need for a fair trial to avoid accusations of "

victor's justice Victor's justice is a term used to refer to a distorted application of justice to the defeated by the victorious party following an armed conflict. Victor's justice generally involves excessive or unjustified punishment of defeated parties and l ...

", to bolster the argument for preserving the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. Accordingly, the defendants were granted full legal representation, and Sleeman acted as senior counsel for the defence. Sleeman's efforts on behalf of the defendants were praised by the tribunal. One defendant was acquitted; eight were sentenced to terms of imprisonment, Sadaichi to 12 years, and the others to lesser terms; and Lieutenant Kaniyuki Nakamura was sentenced to death for the illegal execution by

beheading Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

of an Indian serviceman accused of planning to escape. Sleeman also acted for the defence in a second trial in Singapore, which took place in March and April 1946. In the " Double Tenth" trial, 21 members of the

Kempeitai The , also known as Kempeitai, was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945 that also served as a secret police force. In addition, in Japanese-occupied territories, the Kenpeitai arrested or killed those suspecte ...

(Japanese military police) were accused of war crimes relating to the

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

of 57 of prisoners (including

John Leonard Wilson John Leonard Wilson (23 November 189722 July 1970) was an Anglican bishop. He was Bishop of Singapore from 1941 to 1949 during the time of Japanese occupation and subsequently Dean of Manchester and Bishop of Birmingham. Education Wilson was bo ...

Bishop of Singapore A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

) following a raid on

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. History First prison Before Changi Prison was constructed, the only penal facility in Singapore was at Pearl's Hill, beside t ...

on 10 October 1943 to investigate of a suspected spy network, thought to be responsible for the sinking of seven Japanese merchant vessels in Singapore harbour in September 1943. Many were brutally tortured; one prisoner was executed; another attempted suicide, was refused medical attention, and was left to die of his wounds; and several others died afterwards. The commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Sumida Haruzo and seven others were sentenced to death, three to life imprisonment, and others to shorter terms of imprisonment. Sleeman published an account of the trial of Gozawa Sadaichi in 1948, with a

foreword A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the ...

Earl Mountbatten of Burma Earl Mountbatten of Burma is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 28 October 1947 for Rear Admiral Louis Mountbatten, 1st Viscount Mountbatten of Burma. The letters patent creating the title specified the following r ...

. With Sam Silkin, he published ''The Double Tenth Trial'', an account of the trial of Sumida Haruzo in 1951, with a foreword by

Viscount Simon Viscount Simon, of Stackpole Elidor in the County of Pembroke, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 May 1940 for the Liberal politician Sir John Simon. He was Home Secretary from 1915 to 1916 and 1935 to 1937 ...

Legal career

After he left the army, Sleeman returned to the bar, practising mostly in the divorce courts. He was junior counsel for the defence in the trial of John Christie, accused of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

ing his wife Ethel at 10 Rillington Place. He was appointed as a

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

in 1975 and then as a circuit judge in 1976, serving in that position until 1986, initially in Coventry and later in Surrey.

References

Obituary
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', 30 June 2006
Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 31 August 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sleeman, Colin 1914 births 2006 deaths People educated at Clifton College Alumni of Merton College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II Members of Gray's Inn 20th-century English judges 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers officers Royal Armoured Corps officers