Stephen Lawrence was killed in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in Eltham, London in 1993.
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A report from Sky News
The body, of Stephen Lawrence, a black teenager of Jamaican parentage, will be returned to the UK from Jamaica 31 years after his racist murder.
In a statement issued through an attorney, his mother Doreen Lawrence said images of her son's grave had appeared on social media after his body had been exhumed, which had caused the family distress.
Baroness Lawrence said the 18-year-old had been laid to rest in Jamaica because the family felt he would not be at peace in the UK.
But after 31 years, the family decided they wanted "to bring Stephen home to be closer to us".
She said the funeral home in Jamaica had exhumed her son's body and had a "lack of regard for our feelings and privacy, as evidenced by the decision to leave Stephen’s grave open to the public, rather than closed off".
"We are disheartened by the individual who chose to take images and post them on social media without consideration for the potential impact on our family," her statement read.
"We'd hoped to have carried out this sensitive task privately, but due to unforeseen circumstances, this was not possible. We apologise for any distress caused by those who saw the images, and kindly request that out of respect for us in our privacy, these are removed from all media platforms," it continued.
Stephen was killed in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in Eltham, south-east London in April 1993.
Only two of his five or six killers have been brought to justice.
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