Arjan Balla, a 41-year-old Albanian man, has been sentenced to prison following the death of his former boss, Anastassios Delis, from injuries sustained in an attack 18 years ago. The incident, which occurred in November 2006, left Delis with severe brain damage, rendering him in a permanent vegetative state. Despite serving a prior three-year sentence under a false identity for the assault in 2007, Balla returned to the UK and was apprehended upon re-entry.
Delis passed away in 2017 from pneumonia, with a postmortem examination attributing the 2006 assault as the primary cause of his death. Balla, residing in Whyteleafe, Surrey, with his family since 2020, was arrested at Stansted Airport during an attempt to re-enter the country. He confessed to manslaughter and has been sentenced to one year in jail.
During sentencing, Judge Christopher Parker KC emphasized the gravity of Balla’s actions, stating that the loss of human life must be acknowledged, regardless of the passage of time. Parker described the attack as a planned confrontation leading to a predictable escalation into violence, with Delis subjected to unnecessary kicks while on the ground.