Serbian police detain 79 protesters as dissent persists against populist president

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian police said they detained 79 university students and other protesters as they broke up street blockades in several cities that are part of persistent dissent against President Aleksandar Vucic’s populist government.

Officers in riot gear intervened late Wednesday and early Thursday in the capital, Belgrade, the northern city of Novi Sad and the southern cities of Nis and Novi Pazar. Authorities denied reports of police brutality and excessive force against demonstrators.

University students behind the protests said police charged and injured scores of peaceful demonstrators. Witnesses told local media that riot police beat up protesters with batons and shields and that four students were hospitalized, including one with a broken clavicle.

Four officers were injured and a police vehicle was damaged, the Interior Ministry said in their statement, noting officers “acted in accordance with the law" while responding to the unrest Wednesday and early Thursday.

The European Union mission in Serbia and the United Nations Human Rights Office said they were monitoring the situation closely and urged de-escalation.

“We strongly condemn all acts of hate and violence,” the EU in Serbia said on X. “The rights of peaceful demonstration, freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are to be upheld.”

The statement added that “police action must be proportionate and respect fundamental rights.”

The U.N. Human Rights Office also on X urged authorities to “exercise restraint & to respect freedom of expression & peaceful assembly.”

Tensions in the Balkan country have soared since a rally Saturday demanding early parliamentary elections. The gathering by tens of thousands of people in Belgrade ended with clashes between riot police and groups of protesters.

Vucic has refused to schedule a snap vote despite more than eight months of persistent demonstrations. The protests began in November after a renovated rail station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad, killing 16 people and triggering allegations of corruption-fueled negligence in state infrastructure projects.

Parliamentary and presidential elections are due in 2027. While rejecting the election demand, Vucic has stepped up government pressure to curb the protests that he describes as “terror” and attempts to bring down the state.

On Thursday, Vucic pardoned four activists of his ruling Serbian Progressive Party who were accused of beating up a female student during protests in January in Novi Sad and breaking her jaw. The incident at the time prompted the resignation of then Prime Minister Milos Vucevic.

Critics say Vucic has become increasingly authoritarian since coming to power over a decade ago, stifling democratic freedoms while allowing corruption and organized crime to flourish, which he has denied.

Serbia is formally seeking entry to the European Union, but Vucic’s government has nourished relations with Russia and China.

Serbian gendarmerie officers prepare to remove a street blockade that was set up as part of a protest over a spate of arrests of anti-government protesters after a massive rally demanding an early parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, June 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

People react as Serbian gendarmerie officers remove a street blockade that was set up as part of a protest over a spate of arrests of anti-government protesters after a massive rally demanding an early parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, June 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian gendarmerie officers remove a street blockade that was set up as part of a protest over a spate of arrests of anti-government protesters after a massive rally demanding an early parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, June 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A man walks with two goats as riot police detain a man after charging protesters at the end of an anti-government rally pressing for an early election after nearly eight months of almost daily anti-corruption demonstrations that have shaken the populist government of President Aleksandar Vucic, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Riot police detain a man after charging protesters at the end of an anti-government rally pressing for an early election after nearly eight months of almost daily anti-corruption demonstrations that have shaken the populist government of President Aleksandar Vucic, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)