Saudi Arabia is planning the latest in a series of mass executions in the next few days, looking to behead 52 detainees who they have convicted of "terrorism" related charges. Rights groups are harshly critical of the planned executions, noting three of the detainees were children when they were captured.

Perhaps the riskiest beheading of the bunch, however, would be Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a top Shi'ite cleric who was detained after a Shi'ite protest against discrimination by the Saudi government. He was sentenced to death in October of 2014.

The Saudis have struggled with Shi'ite unrest for years, and this is particularly so with the government waging an openly sectarian war against the Shi'ite Houthis in neighboring Yemen. Though Shi'ites are a minority in the country, they live in some of the most oil-rich parts of the country.