A 23-year-old woman was sentenced to probation Wednesday after she was accused of stabbing a man in a hotel room as revenge for the death of an Iranian military leader killed in an American drone strike.
On March 5, 2022, a man called police from the 14th floor of Sunset Station to report that he had been stabbed in the neck by a woman he met on a dating app. Nika Nikoubin was arrested and initially faced attempted murder, battery and burglary charges.
Nikoubin pleaded guilty in May to two felony counts of false imprisonment with a deadly weapon, court records show.
District Judge Carli Kierny sentenced Nikoubin to three years of probation on Wednesday. She was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and continue undergoing mental health treatment, said Alanna Bondy, one of Nikoubin’s defense attorneys.
“We feel this sentence is appropriate and reflective of the fact that Ms. Nikoubin has addressed the mental health issues that gave rise to this incident in the first place,” Bondy said Thursday. “Our client has a bright future ahead of her and we are pleased that this resolution will afford her the opportunity to prove that this incident does not define her.”
Nikoubin told police after her arrest that she wanted revenge for the death of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated during a U.S. Air Force drone strike in January 2020. According to her arrest report, Nikoubin met up with the man to have sex with him when she blindfolded him and stabbed him in the neck.
Defense attorneys wrote in a sentencing memorandum that Nikoubin had been suffering from a psychotic episode, but that she has since “made her mental health her priority.”
