A court in Bahrain has sentenced a policeman to seven years in prison for the fatal shooting of a Shia protester during political unrest in the kingdom in 2011.

Ali Abdulhadi al-Mushaima was the first person to die in the violence that erupted in February 2011 when thousands of protesters, mostly from the country’s Shia majority, took to the street demanding democratic changes from the Sunni-led monarchy.

“In dealing with one of the instances of rioting in the [Daih] area, the accused fired from a birdshot gun, injuring the victim with wounds that claimed his life,” the state news agency BNA reported the senior prosecutor Nawaf Hamza as saying.

The death of Mushaima and another protester, Fadhel Salman Matrook, prompted King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa to give a televised speech in which he said a committee would investigate the killings.

An independent commission said 35 people had died during the unrest and two months of martial law that followed, but the opposition puts the number at more than 80.

The government, which brought in troops from Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states to help quell the unrest, rejects the opposition figures and has accused groups of having links to Iran.

The commission, led by Cherif Bassiouni, a respected UN human rights lawyer, detailed widespread and excessive force, including confessions under torture, when it published its findings and recommended measures to prevent further abuses.

The Bahraini government says it has taken steps to address the brutality of the security forces by dismissing those responsible and introducing cameras at police stations.

The Shia opposition wants a constitutional monarchy installed and a greater say in the running of the country, including an end to decades-old discrimination against them holding jobs in the army and security forces. The government denies discriminating against Shias.