Lesvos on strike in protest against becoming migrant 'prison'

Residents on the Greek island of Lesvos went on strike on Monday to protest against European policies they say have turned it into a "prison" for migrants and refugees.

Islanders shut businesses, shops, municipal offices, nurseries and pharmacies and dozens rallied on a central square, calling on the government to transfer asylum-seekers to the mainland.

"Lesvos is not a place of exile," a banner read.

Just a few miles from Turkey's coast, Lesvos has borne the brunt of Europe's migrant crisis. In 2015, nearly a million people - most fleeing Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan - landed on its shores before heading north, mainly to Germany.

It is now hosting some 8,500 asylum-seekers in facilities designed to hold fewer than 3,000.

"Lesvos is not an open prison, nor will we allow anyone to view it as such," Mayor Spyros Galinos was quoted as saying by the Athens...