Dad of Israeli student ‘killed by rapper’ in Melbourne breaks down as daughter’s body is prepared for funeral
Islamic funeral rites before coffin flown home for burial in Israel
THE father of murdered student Aiia Maasarwe broke down in tears today as her body was prepared to be flown home to be buried in Israel.
Saeed Maasarwe outside the mosque in Melbourne where Aiia's body was ritually bathed after finally being released by a coroner.
Exchange student Aiia, 21, was attacked while talking to her sister on Facetime as she waked home from a comedy gig a week ago.
Her father, who travelled to Melbourne after the murder, prayed with male worshippers at the Albanian Islamic Centre while women performed the funeral rites in another room.
Saeed is now flying home with the coffin ahead of a funeral in her home country.
At the airport the grieving father said he prayed for every student to be able to get home safely to their families.
He said: "I can talk from the depth of my heart, the depth of my pain.
"I pray for all the student, all the child - everyone can go safely everywhere and can go home to hug his mother and his father and his family.
"This is what we want to see, to see the world with more peace, more safety and more smile and more forgive each other and more accept each other. I talk in my voice, but this is Aiia's mind."
I HEARD HER SCREAMING
Aiia's body was found half-naked after an alleged sex attack near the Polaris Shopping Centre in Bundoora last Wednesday morning.
The night before the La Trobe University student, a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship, had been speaking on the phone to her sister Ruba when her killer is believed to have followed her off a tram.
Ruba said of hearing her last moments down the line: "We spoke about the stand-up comedy she saw and when we would next meet.
“Suddenly I heard her scream.
“I heard vehicles in the background like there was a phone on the floor.
“I heard her screaming and screaming and then the call was cut off.”
The family had pleaded with authorities to release Aiia's body as soon as possible so she could be buried in line with Islamic tradition.
Uncle Ahmad Maasarwe said they were "confused" at the delay and the family were suffering a ";lot of grief".
He said: "It is a critical issue, as Muslims and Palestinians, when someone dies for us, the most crucial and important thing in this moment is to release her body.”
Ahmad added to : “Aiia was a flower, she was a diamond.
"Her parents were waiting for her to graduate with a diploma; they get a coffin instead."
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Wannabe rapper Codey Herrmann, 20, faced court on Saturday charged with rape and murder.
Details of the rape charge were withheld, with some "specific words" left out of court documents out of respect for the family.
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