China sentenced Canadian Robert Schellenberg to die. Will Meng Wanzhou's release spare his life?

The resolution of the extradition case against Meng Wanzhou raises questions about the legal fate of Canadian Robert Schellenberg, who many believe was sentenced to death in China as retaliation for the Huawei executive's arrest.

Schellenberg was sentenced in Nov. 2018 to a 15-year prison term in China over allegations of drug smuggling. But in 2019, about a month after Meng was detained at Vancouver International Airport on a warrant from the U.S., Schellenberg was retried and sentenced to death. 

Now, with Meng's extradition ordeal resolved and her return to China, some observers suggest Schellenberg could see his death sentence commuted, but others express concern it may have little bearing on his case

Jerome Cohen, founder and faculty director emeritus of New York University's U.S.-Asia Law Institute, said he expects that in response to Meng's return, China's Supreme People's Court  will suspend Schellenberg's death sentence for two years. 

After which, Schellenberg would receive a new sentence — possibly a life sentence, or "the term to which he was previously sentenced" Cohen wrote in an email to CBC News.

Donald Clarke, a law professor at George Washington University and specialist in Chinese law, said it's totally possible, feasible and within regular legal procedure for the Supreme People's Court to say it doesn't approve this death sentence.

"It is completely within their power to just go back to the original sentence," Clarke said. "There's no point in executing him now. Meng is free."