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

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

. 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 an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was later a circuit judge in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Life and education

Sleeman was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, where his father was a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer 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 enabled to p ...

. He was related to Sir William Henry Sleeman, an administrator in India in the first half of the 19th century who was responsible for suppressing the

Thuggee Thuggee (, ) was a network of organized crime in British Raj India in the 19th century of gangs that traversed the Indian subcontinent murdering and robbing people.Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

,Muirhead, J.A.O., ''Clifton College Register'', 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 a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

. 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 c ...

in 1974. He married Margaret Farmer in 1944, with whom he had two sons and a daughter (Stuart, Jeremy and Jennifer). In the Second World War, 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. Ministers of Economic Warfare, 1939 ...

. He was commissioned into the 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers and became a staff captain in the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

. He was ultimately promoted to lieutenant colonel 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 Singapore of Japanese soldiers on charges of

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held 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 prisoners of war for a ...

who refused to join the Japanese-sponsored

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA, sometimes Second INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a Empire of Japan, Japanese-allied and -supported armed force constituted in Southeast Asia during World War II and led by Indian Nationalism#An ...

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

victor's justice Victor's justice is a pejorative term which is used in reference to a distorted application of justice to the defeated party by the victorious party after an War, armed conflict. Victor's justice generally involves the excessive or unjustified puni ...

", to bolster the argument for preserving the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. Accordingly, the defendants were granted full legal representation and Sleeman acted as senior counsel for the defence. His 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. Lieutenant Kaniyuki Nakamura was sentenced to death for the illegal execution by beheading 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 , , was the military police of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The organization also shared civilian secret police that specialized in clandestine and covert operation, counterinsurgency, counterintelligence, HUMINT, interrogated suspects ...

'' (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 including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

of 57 of prisoners (including John Leonard Wilson,

Bishop of Singapore The Bishop of Singapore is the diocesan bishop for the Anglican Diocese of Singapore, founded in 1909. History of the See List of bishops *1881 George Hose, Bishop of Singapore, Labuan & Sarawak *1909 Charles Ferguson-Davie *1927 Basil Roberts ( ...

) following a raid on

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison complex in the namesake district of Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. It is the oldest and largest prison in the country, covering an area of about . Opened in 193 ...

on 10 October 1943 to investigate 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 and one prisoner was executed. Another attempted suicide, was refused medical attention, and was left to die of his wounds. 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 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 th ...

Earl Mountbatten of Burma Earl Mountbatten of Burma is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1947 for Rear Admiral Louis Mountbatten, who in 1946 had been created the first Viscount Mountbatten of Burma. He was later promoted to Admiral of the Fleet. ...

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

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 committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

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 newsp ...

in 1975 and then as a circuit judge in 1976, having 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 British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 30 June 2006
Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 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