Justice for whom?

No one wants to cut direct phone service with Cuba, least of all the relatives of murdered Brothers to the Rescue fliers. But that is the Cuban regime's latest threat. Why? Because relatives won a rightful judgment against Cuba, whose MiGs shot down the fliers in cold blood. Now they seek damages from money paid Cuba for phone service.

That Cuba bluffs and bullies is no surprise. What astounds is that the U.S. State Department is once again trying to block the relatives in a legal move worthy of Kafka. Instead of seeking justice for the victims, the U.S. government has gone to federal court to bat for the murderer, Cuba's regime.

The facts are plain. Three years ago next month, Cuban MiGs shot down Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Alberto Costa, Mario M. de la Peña and Pablo Morales in flagrant contempt for international law and human rights. Since then their families have sought justice through every available legal avenue. They've taken their cause everywhere, from the United Nations to the Organization of American States. They've played by the rules, sadly without support from their own government.

Vindication finally came in a civil suit when Senior U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King ruled Cuba culpable and awarded $187.6 million in damages to the families of three fliers who were U.S. citizens. The point of collecting is moral and punitive. As human-rights activist Rolando Muñoz, from Cuba, put it, the damages compel ``the Cuban government to face the crime it committed.''

The U.S. government earlier objected to paying the families out of longtime frozen Cuban assets. The latest objection is to the families going after current payments, by firms such as AT&T and MCI, to Cuba for providing U.S. telephone links. One argument is that the company getting those payments, which is 59 percent owned and controlled by the Cuban government, is independent of the Cuban government. Get real. The State Department also argues that the families' interests must not override broader U.S. foreign policy.

Foreign-policy interests are important, as are people-to-people contacts with Cuba. But what of the human rights that Cuba violates with impunity? In reality the fliers' case would never have come to this had the U.S. government sincerely pursued the rightful condemnation of Cuba.

Caving in then, as now, is no way to stop the bully. As much as it would hurt to lose direct phone contact, the United States should call Cuba's bluff.