Baatour was arrested in 2013 and jailed for 3 months for sodomy, for charges that he always denied.[2][3] In 2015 Baatour co-founded Association Shams, a LGBT rights association focused on the decriminalisation of homosexuality.[4] He is currently president of the association.[5] In 2018, together with Alice Nkom, Baatour received the Idaho France prize for freedom, for his fight against homophobia.[6]