Vienna  - An Austrian court on Tuesday found German state premier Dieter Althaus guilty of manslaughter by negligence and sentenced him to a fine of 33,300 euros
(41,900 dollars) on Tuesday for his involvement in a fatal skiing accident in Austria.

In addition, the court in Irdning ordered the premier of Thuringia to pay a fine of 5,000 euros in compensation to the husband of Beata Christandl, who died on January 1 after colliding with Althaus on a slope in the Austrian province of Styria.

Althaus, 50, was tried a day after he was indicted. He was represented by a lawyer as he is still recovering from head injuries sustained in the accident.

The politician had entered onto a slope against the flow of traffic at a crossing, "even though it was evident for him already when he came near the crossing that Christandl,
41, was coming down the Panorama Slope," justice authorities said in a press release on Monday.

A court spokeswoman said Althaus had violated International Ski Federation rules, which call on skiers to check for others before entering a slope.

The court on Tuesday said the 5,000-euro fine did not preclude further claims by Christandl's husband.

The Austrian Justice Ministry on Tuesday retracted an earlier statement by the prosecution that Althaus had assumed responsibility for her death, confirming instead that the text should have said that the politician assumed responsibility for his actions.

Reporters were informed less than 70 minutes before court proceedings began.

The verdict came ahead of state elections in Thuringia on August 29, for which Althaus is to seeking re-election as the state head of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

A win for the CDU in Thuringia, one of Germany's 16 states, is vital if Merkel is to hold on to power nationally. (dpa)