• China 'arm-twisting' to persuade diplomats to stay away • But 44 countries will be at event to honour Liu Xiaobo

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Saturday 11 December 2010

A report of the boycott of this year's Nobel peace prize ceremony erroneously referred to 'Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish prime minister'. Mr Ahtisaari was never prime minister, but he was the president of Finland between 1994 and 2000

China and 18 other countries have declined invitations to Friday's Nobel peace prize ceremony, organisers said today, as Beijing launched a fresh attack on the decision to honour jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo.

Norway's Nobel committee dismissed the Chinese foreign ministry's claim that the international community did not support the award.

Beijing has urged diplomats in Oslo to stay away from the event, warning of "consequences" if they go.

Several of those who have turned down invitations are long-term allies or trade partners. The full list comprises Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Iraq, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Venezuela, the Philippines, Egypt, Ukraine, Cuba and Morocco.

Another 44 are attending, while Algeria and Sri Lanka have not replied to their invitations.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said: "As far as I know, at present, more than 100 countries and organisations have expressed explicit support for China opposing the Nobel peace prize, which fully shows that the international community does not accept the decision of the Nobel committee."

She declined to list those who would not attend, but added: "After the ceremony, you can see that the vast majority of the international community will not attend."

Geir Lundestad, the committee's executive secretary, said that was "a very curious way of stating things", because only the 65 countries with embassies in Norway were invited.

But he acknowledged: "One of the reasons [for states not attending] is undoubtedly China."

A spokesman for the US state department said: "Our ambassador will be there. Our actions speak for themselves."

Li Datong, a Beijing-based writer who recently signed a petition calling for Liu's release, said it was "absolute rubbish" to say the international community opposed the award. "The foreign ministry has no shame. It's a lie, pure and simple, told without the slightest hint of embarrassment," he said.

Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's director for the Asia-Pacific region, said: "There are a couple of disappointments, but it's effectively a club of countries with relatively bad human rights records."

He said China had persuaded only a small minority to snub the event despite "arm-twisting ... using a combination of political pressure and economic blackmail". In one case, it is understood that an ambassador decided to attend in person – instead of sending another diplomat as he had planned – after receiving China's warning.

According to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, all invited countries sent representatives last year, when Barack Obama won. The previous year, about 10 countries did not attend the ceremony for Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish prime minister.

The Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman described supporters of the award as clowns orchestrating a farce. Jiang said they were fundamentally opposed to China's development and wanted to interfere in the country's politics and legal system.

She added: "All policies in China are for the interests of the majority of the Chinese people. We will not change ... because of the interference of some clowns who are anti-China."

Beijing was furious at the decision to recognise Liu, who is serving an 11-year sentence for incitement to subvert state power after co-authoring Charter 08, a call for democratic reforms.

The authorities have placed his wife, Liu Xia, and other supporters under house arrest and have barred other activists from leaving the country, apparently for fear they will attend the event.

"It is normal that some countries and organisations will not approve of and not attend the Nobel ceremony," said Pu Zhiqiang, a Beijing-based human rights lawyer. "But this has no logical relationship to the real issue, which is whether or not those who want to attend are permitted to attend."

The event would normally see the handover of the Nobel gold medal, a diploma and prize money of 10m kronor (£1m), but organisers say that will not happen this year because only close family can collect on a winner's behalf. China is unlikely to let Liu's relatives attend.

It will be the first time the prize has not been handed over since Nazi Germany barred the pacifist Carl von Ossietzky from attending in 1935.