Four Chinese American scholars were honored recently in Washington by a civil rights group for their bravery in successfully fighting to prove their innocence after being targeted by accusations of being national security threats.

On Thursday, they received the American Courage Award from the group Asian Americans Advancing Justice, or AAJC. The award, established in 1997, honors an individual, company or organization that has shown extraordinary courage or a commitment to civil rights.

The four recipients were among a group of professors, scientists and researchers targeted by a United States government program called the China Initiative, primarily because of their ancestry rather than any suspicions of criminal activity, according to the AAJC.

The civil rights group said the recipients were treated unfairly by the government but have continued to try to rebuild their careers and rebound from the trauma that they suffered.

"For their extraordinary bravery and perseverance during the darkest times of their lives, we honor them with the American Courage Award," the AAJC said in a statement.