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Canadian diplomats in the Saudi kingdom did not expect the rich-oil country to carry out the execution of prominent Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, as well as miscalculated the consequences and the potential magnitude of the action, said a report published by CBC News on Tuesday.

According to the report, documents obtained revealed that Canadian diplomats believed Saudi authorities were probably “bluffing and would not actually carry out the death sentence”.

The documents also suggested that they appear to have underestimated the scale of the reaction to the execution. The killing of Sheikh Nimr sparked outrage among Muslims around the world, with protests in Iraq, Bahrain and Pakistan, and even in Saudi Arabia's eastern province.

The federal government did not consider the execution likely to proceed and Canadian diplomats recommended not taking any actions on the file when the sentence was first handed down in October 2014, uncovered the documents obtained through Access to Information.

Analysts believe Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed, the king's 30-year-old son, has been the driving force behind the kingdom's more assertive stance and its willingness to take extreme political risks in the region, particularly the push into the war in Yemen and the execution of Sheikh Nimr.

"What we have is a Saudi Arabia that's increasingly unhinged, that is run by a young man seeking to prove his bona fides, willing to take a lot of risks and of questionable judgment," said Cliff Kupchan, the chairman of the Eurasia Group. He went on to say "I think that any independent analyst would have to come to the conclusion that the trajectory of the Saudi regime is one of the biggest political risks hanging over the Middle East at this point."

Calling on the Canadian government to raise these issues with the Saudi government at the first opportunity, Conservative global affairs critic Tony Clement stressed on Monday that “the killing of Sheikh Nimr is contrary to political and basic human rights".

Saudi authorities have sentenced Shias to death in the past, but canceled the decision later on as part of a give-and-take negotiation with the opposition, or maybe as an attempt to claim before the international community that the legal system and judiciary are independent, added the report.

The 2014 report also allegedly suggested that Sheikh Nimr’s popularity has decreased during the past few years, describing his views as ‘trident’ and that these no longer fully represent the Shia community. It supposes that his only followers are the people of his hometown al-Awamiyah in eastern Saudi Arabia.

On a related level, the report says Canada seems to come under increasing criticism on the deal it sealed with Saudi Arabia right before sentencing Sheikh Nimr in 2014, a $14.8 billion worth arms deal which represents 95 per cent of all Canadian Military sales.

The criticism comes as Canada would supply the kingdom with light armored vehicles, after bypassing a Canadian law that prohibits arms sales to countries "with a persistent record of serious violations of the human rights of their citizens”.

Armoured vehicles similar to the ones Saudis are buying from Canada were seen on the streets of Bahrain after Saudi Arabia’s stepping in to help the Bahraini royal family in its suppression of peaceful protests, a few observers reported.

The death ruling as well as the execution sparked angry reactions from international rights bodies as well as many Muslim nations, including Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and India.

Sheikh Nimr was a vocal supporter of the mass pro-democracy protests against Riyadh, which erupted in Eastern Province in 2011, where a Shia majority has long complained of marginalization.